MEN

THE MALE BODY IN ROBERT RUNTAK'S COLLECTION

curator Jan Kudrna
opening | May 21, 2022 | 14:00
exhibition May 22 - October 2, 2022 | 9:00 - 18:00
castle riding school Hluboka nad Vltavou

The MEN exhibition in Aleš's South Bohemian Gallery in Hluboká nad Vltavou will, for the first time in its history, present the collection of Robert Runták from a different angle than has been the case in the previous three exhibition projects. One of the main subcollections of the entire extensive collection will be presented, namely the work, the focus of which is the depiction of the male body. It will not be a simple list of authors and works. The exhibition will emphasize four thematic units, which each, but not strictly separately, accentuates men and male bodies as a fulcrum. A wide range of authors over the last approximately one hundred and twenty years, across techniques, will subject men as an element of expression and phenomenon, to a certain research against the background of stylish, historical and partly also social scenery. It will not only be the authors of the domestic, or if you want the Czechoslovak circuit,

Project description:

The MEN exhibition is a probe into one of the largest private collections not only in our country, but in the whole of Central Europe. Accentuates a small part of the collection, focused on the representation of the male body. The exhibition will not be a chronological probe into the collected works of art. It will focus on the main topics that make up the general author's view of men (bodies). The time period of the presented works captures the period from the end of the 19th century to the present. The exhibition will not be limited only by the medium of painting and drawing, but also by photography, sculpture and video. About 75 authors and more than 100 works of art will be presented. An essential part of the project will be a relatively large catalog, which will present the files and topics in more detail. The author of the exhibition and catalog is Jana Vahalíková, which grasped the whole theme very elegantly. The refined architecture of the exhibition, designed by Miroslav Vavřina , helps to break down the themes, the four thematic units are distinguished by color tuning and thus accompany the visitor throughout the exhibition.

There are more than two thousand works of art in the Robert Runták Collection. The collection has been built for almost fifteen years and from the beginning it is considered an organism with several dominant structures. You can work with the collection in a variety of ways. It can be documented, sorted or tirelessly built. However, it is always the case that we are dealing with an organism that requires special treatment. Your space and especially your time. Time, which is the only thing that can not be cheated and replaced. Time that will ultimately show what makes and doesn't make sense.

This sub-collection, presented by Aleš's South Bohemian Gallery, is a sure, and in many ways understandable, source of different joy. Both from the collection and especially from the visuality and aesthetics of the acquired works, from their energy, nature and internal, non-visual communication between the work and the collector. In this respect, the MEN exhibition is very intimate and provocative at the same time. Among the exhibitors are many not only Czech renowned authors, but also artists whose names resonate in the European context.

More than 70 artists…
@radu.baies @basjukondrej @dominikbehal @juliebena @norbertbisky @jakubcuska @andrej_dubravsky @martinederatelier @robertfekete.artist

@ondrej_filipek @robert_gabris_ @martin.gerboc @adeljanska @hasa_matous @jeremy_jaspers @kivaphotography @vojtech_kovarik @patrikkrissak

@milankuncart @filip.kurka.painter @laura.limbourg @matej_machacek_artist @petrxmalina @jiri__marek @jiri_naceradsky @nemeth_kristian

@_petrbok_ @ivanpinkava @miroslav.polach @hanapuchova @rittstein @zbyneksedlecky @skalicky_martin @tea_art.eu @szucsattila.studio @craigwyliepainter

@georgealoisstanek @richardstipl @mark.ther @alexander.tinei @lubomir_typlt @rachna.chasna @ladislavvlna @jan_vytiska @jonathanwateridgestudio

and others

INVITATION CARD, ROBERT RUNTAK COLLECTION, INSTAGRAM