The exhibition captures the most artistically significant period of the second half of the 20th century, known as the "Golden Sixties." It is generally said that the 1960s were a golden age not only for Czech visual art but also for film, literature, music, and theater. More broadly, it was a time when society began to liberalize after years of oppression, and life became somewhat freer and more bearable than before. The presentation of art from the 1960s is also exceptional in that, after 15 years, it again confronts Czech and Slovak visual art, breaking down the presumed barriers between them.

The character of the Czech section is defined by the nature of the collections from which it is composed. These include collections from the Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava, the Regional Gallery of Fine Arts in Zlín, and the Museum of Art in Olomouc. The exhibition presents works by Karel Nepraš, Oldřich Slávek, Mikuláš Medek, Ján Bielecký, Viliam Varmaži, Čestmír Kafka, Jan John, Vladimír Boudník, Jaroslav Stehlík, Václav Vaculka, Bohuš Baroš, Stanislav Kolíbal, Zdeněk Sýkora, Eduard Ovčáček, Zbyněk Sekal, and others.

Seven prominent institutions contributed to this international project: the Miloš Alexander Bazovský Gallery in Trenčín, the Peter Michal Bohúň Gallery in Liptovský Mikuláš, the Regional Gallery of Fine Arts in Zlín, the Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava, the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava, the Bratislava City Gallery, and the Museum of Art in Olomouc.

 Jiří Jůza

The exhibition Czech and Slovak Visual Art of the 1960s did not come about by chance or spontaneously. It was preceded by a long-term and systematic cooperation between the Miloš Alexander Bazovský Gallery in Trenčín, the Regional Gallery of Fine Arts in Zlín, the Czech Museum of Fine Arts in Prague, and the Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava. This cooperation focused on the gradual mutual presentation of gallery collections and on showcasing current artistic developments. The aim of the exhibition Czech and Slovak Visual Art of the 1960s is to bring closer one of the most important periods in the history of Slovak and Czech visual art and at the same time to uniquely connect Czech and Slovak art into an interesting and so far unique international dialogue and confrontation.

Danica Lovišková

This exhibition is the first joint presentation of Czech and Slovak art of the 1960s. The goal is not to present the topic in its entirety, as that would be impossible, but to initiate the discussion and highlight its existence. It indirectly recalls new possibilities currently opening up for both domestic and international research.

Ludvík Ševeček

Historical Background of the 1960s

Artworks of the 1960s were conditioned by many preceding historical events. The cultural groundwork for the 1960s was laid already in the 1950s. A significant event was Expo 58 in Brussels, which marked the rehabilitation of Czech and Slovak modern art. However, international cultural success and the democratization of the visual arts would not have been possible without de-Stalinization and the memorable Khrushchev speech at the 20th Congress of the CPSU in Moscow in 1956.

Symbols of modern life became subjects for artists. Václav Boštík’s 1957 painting Neons seemed to herald the transformation of the city, which was ceasing to be just a space for political propaganda and public demonstrations and was becoming a time when advertisements and signs of ordinary and pleasant life returned to the squares and streets. The painting appeared to announce the 1960s, a decade that was both pleasant and ordinary at the same time.

The late 1950s were marked entirely by creative groups. Groups became a phenomenon of the time. The first creative group, Máj, was founded in 1956, though its exhibition was held in Prague only the following year. Among the artists who signed the announcement establishing the Máj group were Jiří Balcar, Libor Fára, Richard Fremund, Václav Kiml, Zdeněk Palcr, Stanislav Podhrázský, and Zbyněk Sekal.

Only when groups were allowed to hold exhibitions did articles start appearing in art magazines that encouraged the emerging artistic generation and cautiously allowed for experimentation. The decline of previous years was also criticized, albeit incompletely and awkwardly. At the start of the 1960s, the phrase “better late than never” could have become a motto. A significant part of Czech art of the 1960s was viewed in the art centers as an anachronism of the mainstream and modernist conformism. The object and non-objective art increasingly replaced classical modernist techniques. Another scarcely explored area was new technologies—geometry of forms in space and time.

In the postwar history of Czech modern art, the relatively short period of 1964–1969 is considered the time of greatest flourishing. No one lacked a style or direction that needed to be respected. These were the 1960s, and the student uprisings anticipated the end of the age of authority. The old was fading, and the new was emerging. Nevertheless, the unnameable (and unforgettable!) 1960s had to end, replaced by the 1970s, which promised perhaps a somewhat chaotic but hopeful future.

Jiří Olič

Translated with the help of GPT chat.

Curators: Jiří Jůza, Klára Kubíková, Danica Lovišková, Ludvík Ševeček, Eva Trojanová