Acquisition activities are among the key tasks of a collecting institution. The wealth of artworks held in the depositories of the Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava ranks among the most important collections in Czech art museums. Over the past two decades, the ability to expand GVUO's collections has been influenced by many factors. Especially the financial possibilities, which have significantly improved in recent years thanks to the founder – the Moravian-Silesian Region – are shaped by the rapid developments of the art market. In the past decade, a number of acquisitions have been made that have exceptionally enriched the already extensive collection. The Moravian-Silesian Region allocates about 10% of the gallery’s annual budget to the purchase of artworks.

The collection policy focuses on several areas. It includes artists connected to the region who go beyond it and are also part of the national context – such as the work of Stanislav Kolíbal – as well as figures of European significance, such as the recent acquisition of 130 drawings by Anton Kolig. The focus is also on filling in gaps in the collection of art from the second half of the 20th century, especially from the 1980s to the present. GVUO has also managed to acquire works of an international character that enhance the European art collection and form unique groupings. At the same time, the gallery has received many significant donations, confirming the right direction of the institution's activities. Great thanks are due to all donors and artists for their generous and supportive approach.

Between 2001 and 2011, GVUO purchased a total of 200 artworks and received another 346 artifacts as gifts from private collectors, including donations made as part of the transfer of the gallery from the Ministry of Culture to the Moravian-Silesian Region. The exhibition is held on the occasion of the 85th anniversary of the art exhibition pavilion in Ostrava.

Jiří Jůza

Exhibited artists:

Alois Bílek, Alois Bubák, Kurt Gröger, Vojtěch Hynais, Eugen Kahler, Max Švabinský, Ignác Raab, Adriana Šimotová, Karel Teige, Jaroslav Vožniak, Katarina Szanyi-Hudečková, Aleš Hudeček, Jaroslav Koléšek, Karel Adamus, Svatopluk Klimeš, Milan Lasota, Jiří Šigut, Jan Wojnar, Petr Lysáček, Zbyňek Janáček, Marek Pražák, Viktor Kolář, Petr Pastrňák, Miloš Polášek, Jindřich Štreit, Peter Sedgley, Jiří Surůvka, Kamera Skura, Record

Translated with the help of GPT chat.

Curator: Jiří Jůza