The Worlds of Jindřich Chalupecký

The Worlds of Jindřich Chalupecký

Exhibiting Artists: Natalja Abalakova, Jiří Balcar, Václav Bartovský, Eva Bednářová, Julie Béna, Zdeněk Beran, Vladimír Boudník, Ivan Čujkov, Jiří David, skupina Dviženije, Michail Grobman, Jiřina Hauková, Anežka Hošková, František Hudeček, František Gross, Dalibor Chatrný, Vladimir Jakovlev, Vladimir Jankilevskij, František Janoušek, Věra Janoušková, Magdalena Jetelová, Ilja Kabakov, Olga Karlíková, Eva Kmentová, Jiří Kolář, Milan Knížák, Stanislav Kolíbal, Jan Kotík, Alena Kučerová, Kamil Lhoták, Richard Loskot, Václav Magid, Mikuláš Medek, Jan Mlčoch, Alex Mlynárčik, Karel Nepraš, Ladislav Novák, Lev Nusberg, Petra Oriešková, Theodor Pištěk, Viktor Pivovarov, Naděžda Plíšková, Vlasta Prachatická, Milan Ressel, František Ronovský, Zdeněk Rykr, Jan Ságl, Zorka Ságlová, Zora (Járová) Smetanová, Ülo Sooster, Adriena Šimotová, Eduard Štejnberg, Petr Štembera, Triple Candie (Shelly Bancroft & Peter Nesbett), Jitka Válová, Květa Válová, Jaroslav Vožniak, Ladislav Zívr, Jana Želibská, Anatolij Žigalov

This exhibition on the life and work of Jindřich Chalupecký, theorist, critic, curator and essayist, arose as an attempt to bring society closer to the intellectual heritage of this enduring figure of Czech culture. It is also the aim of the exhibition to point out the potential role of a theorist or curator in society and their unique ability to connect diverse personalities, places and spheres of interest. Such a person uses the line of their own thinking about the world to outline the position that art occupies in the contemporary world. The intention of the project is not to create a symbolic monument to Jindřich Chalupecký, but to reflect, through a dialogue between historical works and the work of contemporary artists, writers, philosophers and other personalities, upon the relevance of Chalupecký's ideas and activities for today's world, and on their potential to support us in these times, which are difficult from the point of view of art, politics, and humanity.

Throughout his life, Chalupecký promoted and advocated new directions in art and was interested in broader questions around art, primarily with the meaning of art in modern society. He was a proponent of connecting art with life. In today's terminology we might venture to call it ‘activist’ or ‘engaged’ art. He did not believe in the purely aesthetic function of art or of culture generally. Chalupecký’s wide range of interests and influence guarantees that exhibition viewers will, in one form or another, encounter a substantial portion of 20th century cultural and intellectual history from the Czech and, by extension, international contexts. The exhibition gathers the work of over 60 artists over several generations, from world-renowned international figures such as Marcel Duchamp and Ilya Kabakov through the Czech artists of the post-war era, to the reflections of contemporary artists such as Anežka Hošková and Václav Magid.

The diversity and complexity of Jindřich Chalupecký’s life and work also determines the layout of the exhibition: a collection of a number of apparently separate sections divided not only thematically, but also formally. There is an abstracted perspective of Chalupecký's apartment in Vršovice, a reading room with insights into Czech and Slovak artworks, a site-specific section dedicated to Marcel Duchamp and the Russian artists with whom Chalupecký was in contact in the 1960s and 1970s. The exhibition also includes “cabinets,” in which historical and archival materials intermingle with the observations and interventions of contemporary artists. The exhibition attempts to work with forms of documentation and current readings of historical events and artworks in an unorthodox manner.

Accompanying program 24.03.2022: Guided tour → Jindřich Chalupecký from the perspective of contemporary artists

Komentovaná prohlídka výstavy Světy Jindřicha Chalupeckého s kurátorkami Karinou Kottovou a Terezou Jindrovou.

Ke kurátorkám Tereze Jindrové a Karině Kottové se přidá také umělkyně Anežka Hošková, která pro výstavu připravila instalaci s názvem Omnia flammis data, a jejíž vznik nám více přiblíží.
Čtveřice akvarelů reprezentuje Chlupeckého oblíbené literární autory Jakuba Demla, Jaroslava Haška, Ladislava Klímu a Richarda Weinera v symbolické řeči Anežky Hoškové jako květy. Skleněné vitráže vyjadřují rozpolcenou osobnost těchto literátů. Název celé instalace odkazuje k citátu Ladislava Klímy “Všechno vrženo do ohně”.

Accompanying program 7.04.2022: Discussion → Curatorial, commissioning and exhibition activities of Jindřich Chalupecký

"Exhibiting is not the ideal way for art to enter society anyway."
Discussion of the exhibition The Worlds of Jindřich Chalupecký: The Curatorial, Commissioning and Exhibition Activities of Jindřich Chalupecký.
Debating:
Karel Císař, University of Applied Arts in Prague
Jiří Kovanda, artist and teacher, Faculty of Art and Design, Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem
Terezie Nekvindová, Academy of Fine Arts in Prague
Tomáš Pospiszyl, co-curator of the exhibition, Academy of Fine Arts in Prague

Date and time: 7 April 2022, 6 p.m.
Municipal Library, 2nd floor
The building has wheelchair access.
Admission is free with the exhibition ticket.

Accompanying program 9.04.2022: Discussion → Brunch in the exhibition The Worlds of Jindřich Chalupecký

Relay reading from the works of Jindřich Chalupecký with coffee and cake.
The best way to remember the work of Jindřich Chalupecký is to read his texts. On Saturday, 9 April, from 11.00 a.m., a relay reading will take place at the Municipal Library. Six essays representing different decades of Jindřich Chalupecký's activity from the 1930s to the 1980s have been selected. You can actively participate in the event as a volunteer, reading aloud several paragraphs of the text, or listen to a presentation by invited figures of Czech artistic life.
Selected texts to read:
Beautiful Art, 1934
History, 1941
For a More Humane World, 1958
The Abolition of Freedom, 1968
Art and Transcendence, 1977
The End of Recklessness, 1988

Date and time: 9 April 2022, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
City Library, 2nd floor
The building is wheelchair accessible.
Free with admission to the exhibition.

Accompanying program 28.04.2022: Guided tour → Tomáš Pospiszyl: Chalupecký and Duchamp

Guided tour of the exhibition The Worlds of Jindřich Chalupecký with curator Tomáš Pospiszyl on the topic of Chalupecký and Duchamp.

Date and time: 28 April 2022, 6 p.m.
Municipal Library, 2nd floor
The building has wheelchair access.
Free admission with the exhibition ticket

Accompanying program 5.05.2022: Discussion → "Czech women artists do not need feminist programs." Jindřich Chalupecký and women artists

What was Chalupecký's attitude towards "women's art" and why, within the Czech context, did he on the one hand praise women artists and on the other hand reject feminist ideas? And how can we view his complicated relationship to women artists and their work from the perspective of contemporary (feminist) art theory and history, as well as from the perspective of art practice itself?
The discussion will include: Petra Hlaváčková, Marie Lukáčová and Martina Pachmanová, and moderators Tereza Jindrová and Karina Kottová.

Date and time: 5 May 2022, 6 p.m.
Municipal Library, 2nd floor
The building is wheelchair accessible.
Admission is free with the exhibition ticket.

Babysitting will be provided during the discussion in an improvised play area in the exhibition area. Babysitting is available from 16:00 - 20:00, or until the end of the discussion.

Accompanying program 12.05.2022: English Guided Tour → The Worlds of Jindřich Chalupecký

The exhibition presenting the life and work of the theoretician, critic, curator and essayist Jindřich Chalupecký presents the still current thinking and legacy of this personality of Czech culture. The exhibition also aims to highlight the role that a theorist and curator can play in society - his unique ability to connect different personalities, places and areas of interest.

Date and time: 28 April 2022, 6 p.m.
Prague City Library, 2nd floor
Wheelchair access is provided by the entrance from Valentinska Street (elevator).
Free admission with the exhibition ticket.

Accompanying program 26.05.2022: Guided tour → Tomáš Glanc: Chalupecký in the USSR

A guided tour of the exhibition The Worlds of Jindřich Chalupecký with Tomáš Glanc, this time focusing on the artists of the former USSR whom Chalupecký visited in the 1960s and 1970s.

Date and time: 26 May 2022, 18:00 h
City Library, 2nd floor
The building has wheelchair access.
Free admission with exhibition ticket

Accompanying program 6.06.2022: Discussion → "But it's a strange world." The political thought of Jindřich Chalupecký

Jindřich Chalupecký's work often took place in politically turbulent times. He perceived art not as a world in itself, but in connection with the life of society. How did Chalupecký approach the historical events of his life and what political views did he identify with? How much did they affect his views on art and how do we evaluate them today?
Moderator: Tomáš Pospiszyl
The debate will feature:
Milena Bartlová (UMPRUM)
Jan Bělíček (A2larm)
Zdeněk Brdek (JU)
Jan Wollner (UMPRUM)

Date and time: 9 June 2022, 18:00 h
City Library, 2nd floor
The building is wheelchair accessible.
Admission is free with the exhibition ticket.

Closing program 19.06.2022: The Worlds of Jindřich Chalupecký → Dernissage and performance

The exhibition about Jindřich Chalupecký - his life and work and his legacy from the perspective of today's artists - is slowly coming to an end.
We will say goodbye to it through a processional performance by the artist Kateřina Olivová, who will start the gradual deinstallation of the exhibition and also with a symbolic entrance fee of CZK 1.
The author of the drawings that Kateřina Olivová uses in her performance in the form of tattoos is Tereza Bartůňková. Her illustrations also accompany a book about the life of Jindřich Chalupecký, prepared by Tomáš Pospiszyl and Veronika Čechová and published by the Jindřich Chalupecký Society.