Archive: Culture | Museums Museums
Landmark National Museum building closes for five-year long reconstruction
The historic National Museum building at the top of Prague’s Wenceslas
Square will close its doors on Thursday for five years of major renovations
– the first in the site’s 120-year-long history. When it reopens in
June 2016, the museum should offer visitors a whole new experience. On
Thursday, hundreds of people used the valuable opportunity to visit the
museum for one last time. More
Ladislav Sutnar: U.S. Venus opens at Rudolfinum
In today’s Arts we discuss a new exhibition at Prague’s Rudolfinum
Gallery of almost forgotten paintings by iconic 20th century Czech-American
graphic designer Ladislav Sutnar. Entitled U.S. Venus, the show features
playful, highly-stylised nudes that fit within the designer’s concept of
Joy-Art, a humanistic manifesto which looked ahead to the 21st century. On
the day of the opening, Jan Velinger spoke to the show’s curator Iva
Knobloch of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague. She talks about Sutnar
as a painter but also discusses his immeasurable contribution to the field
of graphic design. More
Culture Ministry orders return of state-owned artworks from abroad to avoid seizures in arbitration case
The Czech Republic will bring back home state-owned artworks that are on
loan abroad in an effort to avoid their seizure in a protracted arbitration
case. The decision comes after an Austrian court last week upheld the
claims of the Swiss firm Diag Human and seized three modernist artworks
lent to a gallery in Vienna. The Czech Foreign Ministry considers any
seizures of Czech property in breach of international law. More
National Gallery to be headed by economist Vladimír Rösel
The Minister of Culture, Jiří Besser, has appointed a fresh face to the
head of the Czech Republic’s National Gallery, that of economist Vladimír
Rösel. Though chosen for the position by a selection committee and praised
by the minister for having by far the best plan for leading the gallery
into the future, critics have been quick to point out his obvious drawback
– that he is neither an artist nor an art academic. What’s more, Mr
Rösel replaces a huge figure in the Czech art world, Milan Knížák, an
artist of world-renown whose 12-year tenure in the gallery has nonetheless
been speckled with mishaps and controversies. Earlier on Tuesday we spoke
with art theorist Tomáš Pospiszyl about the situation. More
Gail Naughton and the Czech books of Iowa
If you want to find out more about the long history of Czechs and Slovaks
in the United States, the place to start is The National Czech and Slovak
Museum and Library in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The museum was devastated by
floods in 2008 and some 6,000 flood-damaged volumes from the library are
still being painstakingly restored. But the pace of recovery has been
remarkably fast, and within the next couple of years, an ambitious project
to rebuild and expand the museum should be complete. With it the library
will also be up and running once again. In Czech Books this week, David
Vaughan finds out more about the library’s rich collections. More
Exhibition at Rudolfinum maps ‘mutations’ in contemporary Czech photography & art
“What exactly happened?” is the key question or starting point for a
fascinating new exhibition which opened on Thursday at the Galerie
Rudolfinum. Entitled Mutating Medium, the show focuses on changes in Czech
photographic art over the last 20 years, as artists working in the medium
shifted from traditional methods to new ways of seeing and treating the
image, blurring at the edges with other forms, other media. The exhibition
follows on the massive success of Decadence Now! with 150 dynamic and
unusual works should prove just as stimulating. More
PLAY – Petr Nikl’s unique project at Prague’s Mánes Gallery
A unique show on at Prague’s Mánes Gallery is continuing to attract
visitors like no other, the latest collaboration between respected artist
and performer Petr Nikl and dozens of contributing artists from around the
world. Called PLAY, the show invites visitors of all ages, from children to
seniors to complete, destroy, co-author or interact with existing
installations, which range from musical sculptures to piles of found
objects that can be arranged and rearranged anyway you like. Radio Prague
caught up with the artist earlier this week and takes a closer look at PLAY
in this week’s Arts. More
National Gallery’s Milan Knížák warns budget cuts will force gallery to opt for drastic solution: to close doors in winter months
Prague’s National Gallery, one of the country’s most respected cultural
institutions which includes a number of venues including Veletržní
palace, has, along with other state-funded organisations, been told by the
austerity government to save 15 percent of its budget next year. The cuts,
following the earlier financial crisis, are expected to hit the gallery
hard. While some steps have already been taken – a reduction in the
number of exhibitions, a cutting back on acquisitions, a lowering of the
number of staff – it is not likely to be enough. As a result, this week
gallery head Milan Knížák warned of a more drastic solution if
additional funds aren’t found. More
National Gallery hosts collection of 20th century masterpieces
Many of the most famous artists of the 20th century will be in Prague as of
Wednesday, vicariously through their artworks that is, as the National
Gallery opens a major new exhibition called Monet – Warhol, showcasing
masterpieces from the Albertina Museum in Vienna. The collection of 80
paintings merely begins with Monet and ends with Andy Warhol, with multiple
works by Matisse, Magritte, Kandinsky and many more found in between.
Taking famous collections on loan from abroad has not been a common trend
in the National Gallery and I asked its director Milan Knížák if it had
been difficult to materialise.
More
Gail Naughton and the Czech books of Iowa
If you want to find out more about the long history of Czechs and Slovaks
in the United States, the place to start is The National Czech and Slovak
Museum and Library in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The museum was devastated by
floods in 2008 and some 6,000 flood-damaged volumes from the library are
still being painstakingly restored. But the pace of recovery has been
remarkably fast, and within the next couple of years, an ambitious project
to rebuild and expand the museum should be complete. With it the library
will also be up and running once again. In Czech Books this week, David
Vaughan finds out more about the library’s rich collections.
More
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