Budování státu

de M. Bartlová, Jindřich Vybíral

With select exhibits of various art media on display, the exhibition shows the ways in which Czechoslovakia was presented in 1918-1939 and 1945-1992 as a state entity, and how the visual arts and its institutions played a role in representing the country. The list of art media is broad and ranges from small- and large-scale oil paintings and bronze sculptures to prints, photographs, installations, and architectural models and plans, to films and even product design, exhibition design and organization, and the clothing made by the Centre for Folk Art Production. Besides being a detailed scientific catalogue on all the exhibited objects, this richly illustrated book also contains specialised studies devoted more closely to particular themes. It explores artworks of varying quality and made in diverse art media that took part in the representation of the Czechoslovak State in 1918-1939 and 1945-1992. Rather than examining the art-historical canon of 20th-century Czech art, this is a survey of the visual arts of the time, where famous paintings and sculptures by accomplished artists are shown alongside inconspicuous banknote images. Exhibition: National Gallery in Prague, Czech Republic (20.11.2015 - 07.02.2016).