08 Sep 2009

Historical Work at Vaclav Spala Gallery

Historical Work

Respecting the history of the Václav Špála Gallery and the gallery’s proclamations honouring the best of the exhibition tradition of the 1960s as represented by theorist and curator Jindřich Chalupecký (the gallery is to present works of the last year’s laureate of the Chaloupecký Award in next exhibition), the curators decided to offer the artists familiar propositions (familiar to the curators as well as artists) on which the project entitled Historical Work has been based. Each of the artists approached the topic differently. They were allowed to work together with other artists, their contemporaries as well as their late colleagues. The history is cited, stolen, the history may be changed or re-created, the history of art offers appropriation, self-irony as well as absolute denial.

The propositions the artists have been working with:
The art started to be optimistic. Artists are not constructors but movers. The art is the only real reality. The artist is a participant and audience. The artist can use the art, create blasphemies. The artist believes in art history myths. The artist creates the past. The artist competes with another artist for the future past. The artist should use the history/art; they are the artist’s possession, the artist should treat them without respect, the artist is not bound by any scientific doctrine. The artist follows different rules to analyze and synthesize the past than historians and theorists. The history goes in a parallel or crosses the artist’s way. Curator gives the artist a chance to manipulate the history/art, provides the artist with space and building material. The artist is partly a curator and collector. The artist makes up, is not interested in mere reconstruction of the past and in living it again, the artist wants to overbuild and extend it. The artist is not a patriot, but is not an ignorant either. The artist likes own past. The artist does not like own past. The artist loves the art. The art can be done knowingly (not subconsciously).

Participating artists and their guests:

Vilém Kabzan (Antonín Hudeček, Josef Šíma, René Magritte, Vincent van Gogh, František Kupka, Antonín Chitussi and others)
Jiří Kovanda (Vítězslav Eibl, Miroslav Hošek, Jan Kodet, Svatopluk Machar, Věra Merhautová, František Radvan, Eva Spingerová, Rudolf Svoboda, Miloš Zet)
Marek Meduna (Ondřej Brody, Joseph Kosuth, Jindřich Chalupecký)
Michal Pěchouček (Ladislav Babuščák, Jana Železníková, Jan Zrzavý)
Pavel Sterec (Mikoláš Aleš, Václav Hanka, Josef Linda, Václav Špála)
Jiří Thýn (Jan Trampota, František Tichý, Toyen, Zbyšek Sion, Augustin Niedmann, Vilém Nowak, Vratislav Nechleba and others)
Tomáš Vaněk (Vladimír Burda)

Curators: Edith Jeřábková and Lenka Lindaurová

Date of opening: 9th September 2009, 6 p.m.
Duration of the exhibition: 10th September – 18th October 2009