Atelier No. 6, March 20, 2008

in

Table of Contents [hide]

Udělám vše, page 1

– Martina Pachmanová: I’ll Do Everything (exhibition, Praha, Galerie Via art / Gallery Via Art, 12. 2. – 7. 3.)
From the Renaissance era onwards, courtesans were themes in works by many artists. In works by Modern artists, prostitutes were depicted either as an icon of sexual freedom or a symbol of licentiousness (vamp). It concerned works by male artists. Female artists, if examined this theme, were focused on the social aspects of prostitution (poverty). Due to the current pornographic industry, the female nakedness has been turned a get-at-able commodity. All types of the mass media in general, the Internet in particular, are full of pornographic imagery and / or advertising campaigns. The project I’ll Do Everything – a series of fifteen small-scale sculptures of prostitutes by Erika Bornová (1964) was inspired by advertisements published in the periodical Annonce: elderly, often fat prostitutes promise “to do everything for almost nothing”; these advertisements are a mixture of licentiousness, vulgarity, banality and despair. Inspired by “erotic” photographs accompanying the advertisements, Bornová carved fifteen small-scale figures of polystyrene, including the refined details (fur collar etc.); the surface of figures is polychromed, wax-coated and decorated with glitters. The heads of fifteen women are similar to skulls with dark holes in places of eyes, noses and mouths. Eros embraces Thanatos. Pachmanová mentions Bornová’s visit to Mexico as a source of inspiration regarding the motif of skull as a symbol of death. She points out that the death is understood as an integral part of the life in Mexico. It contrasts to the endeavour at ousting the death from the image of the perfect existence in the West. From this point of view, the death mask covering the face of lasciviously posed women enriches Bornová’s project with an existential dimension.

Udělám vše, page 1

– Lenka Klodová: I’ll Do Everything (exhibition, Praha, Galerie Via art / Gallery Via art, 12. 2. – 7. 3.)
Klodová points out that the used material – polystyrene – corresponds perfectly to the theme of Erika Bornová’s project. The meditation about the motives and the purpose of “sexual business” of the models is stressed by the skull-like heads. According to Klodová, Bornová did not create portraits of prostitutes but she made dolls – objects to be played with and to be manipulated. Bornová is not a Conceptual artist. She does not moralize. She captivates the viewer with vizualizing the questions hovering over the objects.

Proces, page 2

– Jan Kříž: The Lawsuit (exhibition, Lysolaje, Špačkova galerie / Špaček Gallery, 3. 3. – 3. 4.)
The series of paintings The Lawsuit by Petr Šmaha (1945) was inspired by a scandalous lawsuit that legalized the 1950s-confiscation of the property of S.V.U. Mánes / The Association of Visual Artists Mánes (established in 1887). The internationally renowned S.V.U. Mánes, disestablished by the Communists in 1956, was re-established in 1990. Due to the aforementioned lawsuit that lasted from the early 1990s to 2004, the Communist confiscation of the property was confirmed, so that the S.V.U. Mánes was deprived of the famous Mánes Hall, which had been built of the S.V.U. Mánes’ membership dues in the mid-war period. The lawsuit was based on a cynical principle “law is more than righteousness” that is, unfortunately, so popular amongst some contemporary lawyers. Distinguished in the sense of right, righteousness, pain and disillusionment, Šmaha’s series of paintings is a brilliant contribution to the international Expressionism.

S.V.U. Mánes / The Association of Visual Artists Mánes (discussion / sources), page 2

Based on the S.V.U. Mánes’ annual reports, the scandalous lawsuit that legalized the 1950s-confiscation of the property of S.V.U. Mánes is described step by step from 1992 to 2004 – all particular sessions, actions, appeals to the Supreme Court and the Constitution Court, negotiations with Czech Ministers of Culture, members of Parliament etc. The cause S.V.U. Mánes versus NČFU (Foundation of Czech Fund of Art – the successor organization of the only official / legal artists’ association in the Communist era) showed a striking dominance of law over ethics. The lawsuit that confirmed the Communists’ confiscation of the property of an internationally renowned artists’ association, established in 1887, contrasts to the fact that the property, stolen by the Communists from 1948 to 1989, was restored to churches, political parties, sport clubs and private persons in the Czech Republic in the 1990s.

Renáta Ochmanová: Melancholie..., page 4

– Martina Iblová: Renáta Ochmanová: Melancholy... (exhibition, Pardubice, Krajská knihovna Pardubice / Pardubice Regional Library, 9. 2. – 3. 3.)
Renáta Ochmanová (1979) is a student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (Department of Figural Sculpture and Medal headed by Jan Hendrych). Her first solo exhibition presented a selection of her output – small-scale sculptures, series of drawings and prints – she had created during her residency at the École National Supérieure d’Art de Dijon. Ochmanová’s extensive series of washed drawings were characterized by expressivity in visualizing sculptural forms, torsos, figures and fragments of organic shapes. She presented works from three series of drawings and one series of prints. Drawings from the cycle entitled The Angst Is a Star were distinguished in the succinct sculptural character. Drawings from the series entitled The Passion Lost were characterized by two-dimensional visualization. The abstract character of the series of drawings entitled Memento mori corresponded to the theme. The series of prints entitled Melancholy was represented by two refined dry-points.

Jak na to jde Magdalena Natalia Kwiatkowska, page 4

– Jan Zálešák: Magdalena Natalia Kwiatkowska’s Know How (exhibition, Brno, BKC – Galerie mladých / BKC – Gallery of the Youth, 21. 2. – 21. 3.)
Magdalena Natalia Kwiatkowska (1978) is a graduate from the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, the department headed by Vladimír Skrepl. The Kwiatkowska exhibition, entitled Know How, was based on her school-leaving work. The installation consisted of about ten objects and one video film. Kwiatkowska’s project, based on the principle combining two objects into a new one, commented ironically on the “well-tried methods” and reconsidered the Duchampean tradition of the ready made. Kwiatkowska did not comment on objects; she examined human activities, particularly the mythicizing of the most banal aspect of the life.

Bestiář Renáty Drábkové, page 4

– Terezie Zemánková: Renáta Drábková’s Bestiary (exhibition, Olomouc, Galerie Caesar / Caesar Gallery, 4. 3. – 28. 3.)
The beast – the kingdom of the instincts – is hidden in every man and woman. Renáta Drábková (1969) had freed her “beast” and then tamed it through visualization. She embodied the “beast” into imaginary animals, visualized in a scale of techniques ranging from palette-knifed oil paintings, refined watercolours and washed drawings in Indian ink to drawings in ball-point pen. Personifying the angst connected with the carnal, Drábková’s works are characterized by a contrast between a scale of clear colours and the form on one hand and the disturbing content on the other hand. The second “chapter” in Drábková’s Bestiary is “visitors” – beings invisible with the senses. Corresponding to taming the wild animal, Drábková has transformed these “visitors” into “guests”. Thanks to her sense of humour, Renáta Drábková did not dive into the frenzy of imagination. Her works are distinguished in the combination of the intuitive with the rational, and the automatic with the deliberate.

Nekonečný obraz, page 4

– Petr Štěpán: The Infinite Painting (exhibition, Praha, Školská 28, 11. 3. – 28. 3.)
Michaela Petrů (1978) and Edita Pattová (1982) experiment in the new means of expression mediated by the colour. Petrů has contributed by the “infinite painting” based on the principle of the combination of spectral colours. The composition and colours are being transformed by the rotation of the painting. In this way, the content is turned null – it is neither geometric aesthetic nor the figurative visualization. Pattová presents a triptych depicting Santa Claus and a Rock guitarist hovering in front of the facade of a department store. The picture is “animated” by gradual lightening of particular parts of the triptych.

Přírodniny – sběr, page 4

– Vojtěch Petratur: Products of Nature – Collection (exhibition, Brno, Galerie Dolmen / Dolmen Gallery, 13. 2. – 9. 3.)
Zdeňka Řezbová (1981) and Barbora Lungová (1977) graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Brno. Both Řezbová and Lungová are artists and curators. Řezbová, who contributed by environmental installations, happenings and gender projects, participated in many domestic and international exhibitions. At the Dolmen Gallery, she presented “sculptures” and installations of moss, toothpicks and savoy cabbage. She installs her works in open space, so that an occasional spectator is not sure whether he / she sees products of nature or products of man. Lungová presented paintings that echoed her recent experience of partial immobility.

Jakub Janovský: SABATUM, page 5

– Vojtěch Poláček: Jakub Janovský: SABATUM (exhibition, Jihlava, Oblastní galerie Vysočiny / Regional Gallery of the Highlands, 6. 3. – 31. 3.)
Jakub Janovský (1984) is a student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, the Department of Drawing headed by Jitka Svobodová. Poláček defines his art as the neo-Decadence. He finds several parallels with the Decadence of the late 19th century – critical comments on capitalism, irony, the black grotesque a scale of colours (yellow, violet, green).

Future artists, page 5

– Lenka Klodová: Future artists (exhibition, Brno, Galerie Aula – FaVU VUT / Great Hall Gallery – Faculty of Visual Arts, 21. 2. – 14. 3.)
Under the title Future artists, works by students at the Faculty of Arts in Ostrava, the departments headed by Jiří Surůvka, Petr Lysáček and František Kowolowski, were presented in form of a representative “team-work”. The exhibition was characterized by a marked colourfulness and interest in “superficial” themes such as comics, computer games etc. Klodová points out that students at the three departments of the Ostrava Faculty of Art contribute also to the fields of music and life-style. She was particularly impressed by the amazing combination of diverse types of creative activities, typical of the Ostrava Faculty of Arts.

K výstavě Mariuse Kotrby, page 5

– Jiří Šetlík: Comments on the Marius Kotrba Exhibition (exhibition, Praha, Galerie Maldoror / Maldoror Gallery, 27. 2. – 30. 3.)
The sculptor Marius Kotrba (1959) has contributed also to the field of painting. His works are characterized by the transformation of the everyday motifs into art. Kotrba’s greatest contribution is his original interpretation of figurative imagery. Kotrba’s selected sculptures and paintings are on display at the Gallery Maldoror.

Čtyři polští fotografové, page 5

– Vladimír Birgus: Four Polish Photographers (exhibition, Opava, Dům umění – Kabinet fotografie / House of Art – Cabinet of Photography, 27. 2. – 30. 3.)
Many Polish photographers graduated from and / or study at the Institute of Creative Photography in Opava. Thanks to it, the Polish photography, characterized by Conceptual trends and the intermedia, has been markedly enriched with the document, photo reportage, staged photography, portrait and advertising photography. The exhibition presents contributions to the new document by four graduates from ICP. Staszek Heyda (1983) presents a series of photographs entitled Close Friends that depicts symbolically the generation of thirty-year old people. Magdalena Sokalska (1982) presents a series of diptychs entitled Mariela – Something about a Girl. The theme of her work is a six-year old girl. The internationally renowned photographer Krzysztof Gołuch (1966) is well-known of humanistic documentary black and white photographs of handicapped people. He presents a series of colour prints entitled Vestiges. These subjective documents are complex metaphors of the contemporary world. Andrzej Marczuk (1978) presents works from the series of photographs entitled Greetings from Chorzów – bizarre snapshots taken at the Chorzów fun fair.

Grafika roku 2007, page 6

– Dalibor Smutný: The Print of the Year 2007 (award & exhibition, Praha, Calm-Gallasův palác / Clam-Gallas Palace, 12. 2. – 18. 3.)
Smutný meditates about the essence of art. It depends neither on the brilliant technique nor on the content but it results from something that is hardly definable. Smutný, who was the president of the jury for the contest The Print of the Year 2007, speaks about difficulties in deciding about the winners amongst so many works of high quality. The Print of the Year is a unique event connecting artists, theorists, art collectors and sponsors. The contest is open to the citizens of the Czech Republic. Regarding the 14th edition of The Print of the Year, most artists applied to the Category A – the large format. The winner of the Category A is Lukáš Kudrna awarded for his linocut At the Pub (70 x 100 cm). Depicting a scene at a village pub, Kundrna reconsidered the Czech Expressionism and Symbolism in an original way. His work is distinguished in the application of a complex technique. The winner of the Category B – the small format – is Jindřich Růžička, who was awarded for the colour linocut entitled Cylinders (23,2 x 20 cm). His print is distinguished in the monumental visualization of a simple theme and the brilliant technique. The winner of the Category C – students’ works – is Jakub Honetschläger (Academy of Fine arts Prague), who was awarded for an untraditional silk-screen print (42 x 63 cm). Regarding the Category D – the artist’s book, three female artists were awarded: Štěpánka Bláhovcová and Alžběta Diringerová & Marie Veselá. The special awards for printmaking techniques were awarded to Helena Horálková, Jan Měřička and Jaroslava Severová.

Vojtěch Kovářík – Laureát XIII. Ceny Vladimíra Boudníka, page 6

– Marcel Fišer: Vojtěch Kovářík – The Winner of the XIIIth Vladimír Boudník Award (award & exhibition, Praha, Clam-Gallasův palác / Clam-Gallas Palace, 12. 2. – 18. 3.)
When Vojtěch Kovářík (1976) graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts Brno in 2003, it was obvious that a marked figure emerged on the Czech printmaking scene. Soon, he became internationally renowned. In 2004, he was awarded the main prize in the International Triennial of Printmaking. He is the youngest winner of the Vladimír Boudník Award (established in 1995), awarded to a living Czech printmaker for his / her significant life-work. A series of large-scale black and white linocuts (2002 – 2005) with the motifs of industrial buildings was characteristic of his early output. Fišer points out that the cardinal theme of Kovářík’s prints was the transformation of 3D into 2D in applying the elementary printmaking means. It resulted in a visualization in-between the real and the Op Art geometry. Kovářík’s works were distinguished in the brilliant technique. He based his linocuts on photographs; he did not reproduce the photographs, but he interpreted them. In the series of colour silk-screen prints – computer-manipulated photographs entitled Reflections, he examined the complex play of reflections; the motifs of his works were mostly photographs and pictures on wall. Kovářík’s last series of large-scale colour linocuts could be found a synthesis of the two previous series of prints. The themes are similar to the first series of black and white linocuts; the priciple of grid and the motif of reflection connect the newest series of linocuts with the aforementioned silk-screen prints.

Doprovodné výstavy XIV. ročníku Grafika roku, page 7

– Simeona Hošková: The Accompanying Exhibitions to the XIVth Edition of The Print of the Year (Praha, Polish Institute, Andrzej Bednarczyk: Calculatorium mundi, 12. 2. – 21. 3.; Hungarian Cultural Centre, Gábor György Nagy: Flower Leaves for a Breakfast, 13. 2. – 28. 3.)
Andrzej Bednarczyk (1960), a Professor at the Academy of Fine Arts Cracow, is an internationally renowned printmaker. His famous project Calculatorium mundi is based on connecting the “the abstract beauty of the number and the unique beauty of a little stone”. He is well-known of his Internet project Genetrix Mundi – “portraits” of little stones. In Prague, he presents the project Consolanta, a model of the utopian idea of the universal order of the world. The installation of “the square portraits of numbers” at a gothic hall evokes connotations to the mediaeval mystics. The major Hungarian printmaker Gábor György Nagy (1966) reflects the passing away surfaces of the moment. The themes of his works are his home and his family. His works are distinguished in an original interpretation of the artistic traditions and the unique combination of the traditional and new techniques.

Hry a sny Josky Skalníka, page 7

– Jiří Hůla: Joska Skalník’s Plays and Dreams (exhibition, Praha, Galerie Smečky / Smečky Gallery, 19. 2. – 10. 5.)
Joska Skalník (1948) entitled the exhibition of his collages Dreams, Situations, Plays. Skalník is a solitary artists. No period trends and / or dramatic shifts are echoed in his oeuvre. He has been reconsidering his typical themes. Skalník worked as a typographers for years. He contributed by posters, exhibition catalogues, books etc. This experience has been echoed in his art. His works are distinguished in the harmonious composition evoking contemplation. First of all, Skalník is a painter. His prints and collages do not differ from his paintings too much regarding the principle and the composition. The relief-like brushwork in his painting evokes a haptic feeling. His collages evoke a multiple illusion. He combines fragments of ideas and visual elements, which has lost theirs original meanings, into visual poems. After 1989, Skalník travelled a lot, particularly to Asia. His recent works echo the exotic elements and oriental symbols.

Hledání abstrakce, page 7

– Radek Horáček: The Searching for Abstraction (exhibition, Galerie Ars / Ars Gallery, 29. 1. – 29. 2.)
Curated by Eva Hliněnská and Josef Chloupek, the exhibition Robert Hliněnský and His Friends presented works by four friends who had been contributing to form abstract art in Brno from the 1950s onwards. The exhibition was held on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Robert Hliněnský (1908 – 1979). The perfectly selected set of works by Hliněnský, Čeněk Dobiáš (1919 – 1980). František Šenk (1914 – 1978) and Dalibor Chatrný (1925) was displayed in form of a though-provoking dialogue.

Jiří Kolář – Prostor mezi slovem a obrazem, page 8

– Jan Rous: Jiří Kolář – Space between the Word and the Picture (exhibition, Praha, Topičův salón / Topič’ Salon, 19. 2. – 21. 3.)
The internationally renowned poet and artist Jiří Kolář (1914 – 2002) said in 2000: “I am a writer”. He did not say: “I am a poet” despite that poetry was cardinal regarding both his poems and famous collages. A certain allusion to the fundamental texts, myths and history of art is less or more present in all his contributions to visual arts. Executed in a spectrum of experimental techniques (rollage, crumpllage etc.), Kolář’s pictures are ironic in re-interpretation of Modernity. The crucial methods Kolář applied were the collage and the chiasmage. He was contributing by collages from 1937 onwards. The chiasmage – a plane covered by deformed words – was Kolář’s invention. Josef Hlaváček characterized Kolář’s chiasmages as “an organized but chaotic decomposition of the original meaning and the import”. Thanks to the experience of “poems of silence”, Kolář replaced the verbal expression by the visualization, but the sceptical approach to the language, the word and the import was still present in his works.

Zvídavý sběratel Jiří Kolář aneb Dílo hledá svého sběratele, page 8

– Jan Rous: The Inquisitive Collector Jiří Kolář (exhibition, Praha, Topičův salón / Topič’ Salon, 19. 2. – 21. 3.)
The Topič’s Salon – the exhibition hall named after the famous publisher – was reopened after a break of sixty years. From the late 1940s onwards, the famous poet and artist Jiří Kolář was collecting art. He acquired works by artists who were ignored by the official institutions in the Communist era. His collection included works by co-members of the Skupina 42 / Group 42, Alén Diviš, Vladimír Boudník, Zdeněk Beran, Jiří Valenta, Aleš Veselý.... Rous points out the affinities between Kolář and Boudník. Collecting art, Kolář supported many artists financially. Kolář’s generosity concerned also non-official writers. After the Velvet Revolution, Jiří Kolář, Václav Havel and Theodor Pištěk established the Jindřich Chalupecký Prize for Czech artists under 35.

Milan Houser – Litky, page 8

– Jan Zálešák: Milan Houser: Drippings (Brno, BKC – Galerie U Dobrého pastýře / BKC – Good Shepherd Gallery, 28. 2. – 16. 4.)
The art of Milan Houser (1971) is characterized by the two aspects: the ambivalent position between the object (the sculpture) and the picture and the emphasis laid on the perfect technique. In Brno, Houser’s newest works are presented. There are two types of works on display: paintings executed in dripping the paint on canvas, and paintings-objects created by dripping the nitroglycerine paint or acrylic with nacre on board. The two types of works are characterized by the marked material aesthetics – the play of light on the nacre surface and / or the tactile qualities of the layers of paint. The aesthetic dimension, sometimes stressed by refined drawings in Indian ink, corresponds to the messages of the works.

Deník pacienta P., page 8

– Petr Vaňous: The Diary of the Patient P. (exhibition, Kuřim, Galerie Ad astra / Ad astra Gallery, 13. 2. – 16. 3.)
The painter Jiří Petrbok (1962) is internationally renowned. His works are characterized by mixing the objective forms with imagination. The human figures in Petrbok’s paintings are like strange elements emerging from the subconsciousness. The “claustrophobic” feeling is balanced by a refined type of situation humour. His paintings are insightful examinations of the pragmatic and material society. Vaňous characterizes Petrbok’s works as “the topsy-turvy advertising aesthetics”.

Land of Human Rights, page 9

– Vendula Fremlová: Land of Human Rights (exhibition, Graz, Rotor, 30. 11. 2007 – 28. 2. 2008)
Under the title Raise the Voice Here and Now, the first part of the international project Land of Human Rights was presented by the association for contemporary art Rotor. The project was launched with the support from Culture 2007. The Faculty of Art and Design Ústí nad Labem contributed to the project. Works by eight artists and groups of artists were presented at the Rotor. The German artist Nasan Tur (1974) contributed by the Backpacks (2006) – special portable devices applicable to a demonstration, a sabotage etc. – and a set of banners entitled Demonstration Kits (2007). Visitors to the exhibition could lend and use them. The Vilnius based team of artists Nomeda & Gediminas Urbonas presented the project Pro-test Lab Archive (2005 – 2007), mapping protest actions of artists, students ands citizens of Vilnius against “privatization”, actually unlawful appropriation of state property. The project entitled The First Collection (2006 – 2007) examined the history of the clenched fist – the symbol of the revolutionary movement of the 20th century. The Protest Match by Dmitry Vilensky recorded the 2006 Russian Social Forum in form of a video film. The set of works on display included photograph by Adrian Paci Turn On! a series of stickers by the group DIVANOVA / 07, and stickers and banners by the group NRONVIAGDPIOVSAA/2007 (Graz / Ohio).

Případ Jana Lauschmanna, page 12

– Josef Moucha. The Jan Lauschmann Story (exhibition, Praha, Galerie Josefa Sudka / Josef Sudek Gallery, 17. 1. – 20. 4.)
Jan Lauschmann (1901 – 1991) contributed to the field of photography both as an amateur and a professional photographer. In the mid-war period, his photographs were cardinally influenced by the Czech-American pictorialist Drahomír J. Růžička (1870 – 1960). Lauschmann contributed to civic genres; his work included socially-critical themes. The chamber exhibition, curated by Jan Mlčoch (Museum of Decorative Arts Prague), presents a selection of Lauschmann’s photographs taken in Czech and Moravian metropolises. In the accompanying booklet, the curator describes how Lauschmann came to fame thanks to his curatorship of the 1971 Interkamera retrospective and essays on his colleagues and clubs of photographers from his youth. In 1986, the Jan Lauschmann monograph was published by the Odeon publishing house. Regarding this monograph, Moucha points out the possible misinterpretations resulting from assumptive quotations of Lauschmann’s ideas of a functionary on the amateur scene.

Dva pohledy, page 12

– Věra Jirousová: Two Views (exhibition, Lidice, Lidická galerie / Lidice Gallery, 15. 2. – 4. 5.)
Entitled Two Views, the exhibition of the Kladno based marriage couple of photographers Jiří Hanke (1944) and Jiřina Hankeová (1948) represents complementary views of the world. Hanke is well-known of his extensive series of photographs documenting the authentic poetic of the life. The series of large-scale prints entitled Echoes / Searching for America consists of diptychs composed of one photograph taken in the USA and one photograph taken in the Kladno periphery. In the series of photographs entitled Imprints of the Generation, Hanke portrayed his friends and contemporaries in time. The series of photographs by Hankeová entitled Why? are characterized by transforming the fragments of the Kladno periphery into the signs, revealing the structure of space and mind. The series of ten photographs entitled No. 937 is distinguished in the transformation of the cracked facade of a house into the abstract grid. The series of photographs entitled The Awkward Attempt at Autotherapy echoes the photographer’s experience of severe depression.

Únor 1948, page 12

– Lenka Sýkorová: February 1948 (exhibition, Praha, Galerie Altán Klamovka / Clam Bower Gallery, 24. 1. – 17. 2.)
Students at the departments of graphic art at the Faculty of Art and Design Ústí nad Labem participated in the virtual symposium & exhibition reflecting the concept, legend etc. of February 1948 – the symbol of the Communist assumption of power in Czechoslovakia. The set of students’ works reflected the theme in forms of typography and graphic design. During the opening ceremony, the three most witty works were awarded. The winners were Karolína Řeřichová, Jakub Konupka and Vladimíra Gurská.

Požár v muzeu, page 16

– Vojtěch Lahoda: The Glow at the Museum (exhibition, Olomouc, Muzeum umění / Museum of Art, 17. 1. – 23. 3.)
Jan Placák, the art collector and the owner of the Galerie Ztichlá klika / Gallery Still Handle, has been focused collecting lesser-well known Central European artists, particularly the Bohemia based German-speaking artists of the first half of the 20th century. A selected set of works from Placák’s collection is presented at the Olomouc Museum of Art under the title Outburst. Expressionist Tendencies in Central Europe 1903 – 1936. The set of paintings, drawings and prints on display evidences the high level of many works by lesser-well-known artists, comparable to the works by the famous representatives of Czech and German art. Placák’s collection includes socially critical works (Ernst Barlach, Käthe Kollwitz, Heinrich Tischler), works by German-speaking artists (August Brömse, Josef Hegenbarth, Michel Fingesten, Maxim Kopf, Willy Nowak, Moritz Melzer, Erwin Müller, Josef Prinke, August Roth, Hugo Steiner-Prag), works by Jewish artists (Egon Adler, Joseph Budko, Jakob Steinhardt, Friedrich Feigl, Richard Pollak-Karlin, works by Czech classical Modern artists (Josef Čapek, Otto Gutfreund, Vlastislav Hofman, Alfred Justitz, Emil Artur Longen, Svatopluk Máchal, Václav Špála, Jan Trampota, Josef Váchal, Anna Macková), works by artists connected with the Dresden Modern and Expressionist movement (Josef Hegenbarth, Bernard Kretzschmar, Robert Langbein, Otto Lange), and works by Austrian artists (Robert Philippi, Otto Richard Schatz, Victor Tischler, Aloys Wach). The exhibition, curated by Jan Placák, Marie Rakušanová and Ladislav Daněk, is accompanied by a catalogue edited by Ladislav Daněk, including the essay by Marie Rakušanová (Muzeum umění Olomouc 2008. 200 pp., 279 illustrations). Lahoda points out that Rakušanová examined the expressionist tendencies in Central European art within broad contexts of Modernity. Developing the idea of “differentiated” Expressionisms, she metaphorizes about the “outburst” in Central Euroepan art that resulted in the glow somewhere but it was burned down otherwhere.
Translated by Magda Němcová