Publication details
Křehké sny modernity : ČSR a Pardubice v zrcadle výtvarného umění 1918–1938
| Title in English | Fragile Dreams of Modernity : The Czechoslovak Republic and Pardubice as Reflected in the Fine Arts 1918–1938 |
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| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2018 |
| Type | Monograph |
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| Description | The project, symbolically dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the founding of the First Czechoslovak Republic, maps the years 1918 to 1938 through the fine arts. It focuses on what at that time were statewide themes of seeking and creating the new state’s identity, the rise of the interwar avant-garde and its distant echoes in the region, as well as the contrast between bourgeois, mature, modernist society and the economic and social problems that fully resonated as subjects of artistic treatment. Situated within the broader context of the then-commonly shared artistic canon, this overview above all strives to establish and then to assess what our regional form of interwar modernist society looked like, what its ideals, dreams, victories and defeats were, with an emphasis on the fruitful local subjects of culture, sport and landscape. Fragile Dreams of Modernity is above all an opportunity to return to these local forms of modernity as collections of visual art. It is a pleasant opportunity to perform an in-depth analysis and a critical, surgical cross-section of the gallery’s collection by plumbing the depths of the local depository. Since its establishment in 1953, the East Bohemian Gallery (Východočeská galerie) has always built up its collection with the ambition of capturing the development of the arts in our area both on a national scale and in its regional form. The gallery has always functioned as a regional institution with a significant local educational function. On this occasion we would like to look at the fine art forms from interwar Czechoslovakia as seen through the lens of this collection. Against the background of the gallery’s well-known, historically permanent exhibitions that have long been on display, we want to primarily present the paintings, sculptures, drawings and graphic designs that have not been given that opportunity for many years despite deserving our attention. We would also like to exhibit well-known works in this newly-specific local context and open up the opportunity for them to be further explored and studied in that context. |