set of 20 original works and a typographic title page, variable dimensions (folded size 650×510 mm), purchased in 2025 with the support of the Ministry of Culture 

Eduard Ovčáček, Title page of Album 77, 1977, screen printing, paper, 650 × 510 mm / print 627×450 mm

Album 77 is the last in the Albums series, which present collections of works by selected artists who were unable to exhibit officially during the “Normalization” period in Czechoslovakia (following the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion). Comprising loose sheets in an A2 format, the Albums project was implemented in 1975, 1976 and 1977. The idea for this underground collaborative effort came from two artists – Eduard Ovčáček and Ivo Janoušek. The format was the only limitation; there were no other constraints on either subject matter or techniques. The Albums thus not only document the work of individual Czech and Slovak artists in the second half of the 20th century; they are also a testament to human courage and the desire for creative freedom even in a harshly repressive political climate.

Album 77 features the work of Karel Adamus, Václav Boštík, Rudolf Fila, Dalibor Chatrný, Josef Istler, Jozef Jankovič, Vladimír Janoušek, Věra Janoušková, Čestmír Kafka, Eva Kmentová, Stanislav Kolíbal, Milan Laluha, Aleš Lamr, Igor Minárik, Ladislav Novák, Vladimír Novák, Eduard Ovčáček, Milan Paštéka, Jiří Sopko, Miroslav Šnajdr and Jan Wojnar. 

(Click on the photos to identify individual pieces.)