Inland navigation in Bohemia is a rewarding and still not very well explored topic. In three thematic units, the exhibition presents often well-known paintings whose themes are identified for the first time in a credible way. The legendary steamship Primátor Dittrich, as captured by Josef Šíma, is also included.
Exhibitions archive
‘Then I Saw a New Heaven and a New Earth …’ The Apocalypse and Art in the Czech Lands
exhibition hall Masné krámy
04/10/2023 to 03/03/2024
Since the Middle Ages, the New Testament text of the Revelation of St. John and the visual imagination associated with it have included two antipodal points. On the one hand, the depiction of apocalyptic calamities and the dilapidation of the world represented destruction in a figurative sense, and thus social crises, upheavals and the horrors of war were associated with the apocalypse.
With Time under One’s Skin. Tomáš Císařovský – Bohdan Holomíček
exhibition hall "13"
14/06/2023 to 01/10/2023
The exhibition of the photographer Bohdan Holomíček (*1943) and the painter Tomáš Císařovský (*1962) traces the intersection of two utterly different worlds, both in terms of the means of expression and generation-wise. The works of both artists show a similar intuitive sensitivity to the recurring order of the validity of historical, social and natural phenomena, whose counterpoint is always a specific historical constellation and a specific human fate.
Golden Years. Fin de Siècle Art from the Collections of the Gallery of West Bohemia in Pilsen
exhibition hall Masné krámy
05/04/2023 to 03/09/2023
The period of the turn of the twentieth century was one of the most turbulent and dynamic stages in the development of fine art, which was becoming an increasingly important part of life in continental Europe and elsewhere at that time.
The Art of the Very Long Century and the Memory of Human Walk
exhibition hall "13"
03/03/2023 to 21/05/2023
The focus of the exhibition is related to the theme of the 43rd annual Pilsen Interdisciplinary Symposium on the Nineteenth Century, which takes place as part of the Smetana Days festival in Pilsen and is subtitled "Years of Wandering". From the very beginning, the PIS programmes have fostered up-to-date expert approaches to the given topics.
Comic Links
exhibition hall "13"
21/10/2022 to 29/01/2023
A drawing is an essential part of the comics; a drawing, which, in sequences, creates a story, a visual narrative. A comic book author is, first and foremost, a figure cartoonist, he/she must be able to maintain a distinctive style, the atmosphere of the story in a pictorial narrative in a series of successive pictorial sequences. What have been the drawing characteristics of the distinctive Czech comics? How did the artists inspire each other?
The Era of Salons: Czech Salon Art and the International Art Scene 1870–1914
exhibition hall Masné krámy
28/09/2022 to 05/03/2023
The exhibition aims to present Czech salon art in the European context, as was common practice in the ‘salons’ of the time between 1870 and 1914.
Kubišta, Pinkas, Sekal et al. GWB’s Acquisitions of 2012–2021
exhibition hall "13"
22/06/2022 to 28/09/2022
The exhibition of a selection of the acquisitions that the Gallery of West Bohemia has acquired to its collection since 2011 follows an earlier exhibition summarizing acquisitions from 2008–2011 (Hodek, Kars, Max et al., 2011). The collecting activities of the GWB have established a certain pattern over time, the priorities defined by the document Concept of the Collection Activities of the Gallery of West Bohemia in Pilsen 2017–2021.
Artwork and Changes of Artistic Scene
exhibition hall "13"
04/03/2022 to 29/05/2022
The exhibition has been conceived as a traditional part of the Smetana Days Festival on the current theme of the Pilsen Interdisciplinary Symposium on the 19th century.
MICHAL CIHLÁŘ / Still-Life with Thrown Gauntlet
exhibition hall Masné krámy
16/02/2022 to 28/08/2022
The graphic artist Michal Cihlář (1960) is considered a pioneer of Czech modern linocut. By a curious coincidence, he began to use this graphic technique in 1980 and soon realised that linocut, despite the fact it is rather a primitive technology, is a true bonanza of unlimited creative possibilities.
Josef Sudek – Jakub Špaňhel: To Experience a Revelation
exhibition hall "13"
22/10/2021 to 06/02/2022
This exhibition of works by Josef Sudek and Jakub Špaňhel, two acclaimed artists operating in different times and different media, has a unifying and powerful theme: St Vitus Cathedral in Prague, a place that is intimately connected with the history of the entire country and has helped to define the national identity.
Aviation in Czech Visual Culture, 1783–1957
exhibition hall Masné krámy
16/07/2021 to 16/01/2022
“The desire to fly is as old as mankind. And despite the fact that people were breaking their limbs in attempts to make this dream come true, they still cling to the idea of flying.” These are the words of the Swiss painter Paul Klee, whose art and life were tightly connected with flying.
Me and Them. The individual and society in 19th-century art
exhibition hall "13"
18/06/2021 to 26/09/2021
An exhibition to be held in conjunction with the 41st Pilsen Interdisciplinary Symposium on 19th-Century Issues as part of the Smetana Days festival in Pilsen.
“MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN THE SUN”. The Pilsen Madonna and the Beautiful Style
výstavní síň Masné krámy
27/11/2020 to 06/06/2021
The Pilsen Madonna is Pilsen’s most precious artwork, and for centuries its most venerated one as well. Dating from the first half of the 1380s, this unique marlstone statue was commissioned from the cathedral workshop in Prague by the Teutonic Order, which was responsible for St Bartholomew’s Church in Pilsen; the statue was intended for the new church’s recently completed choir, where it has remained ever since.
BAOABC. How and why children’s books are created
výstavní síň „13“
16/10/2020 to 30/05/2021
“Hey Bao! What’s up? We’re reading… Cool, thanks.“ Baobab is not “just” a publishing company specialising in illustrated books for children, but an organic whole that is constantly embracing new activities. It supports young illustrators and writers, promotes artist books for children, maps contemporary European literature for children and young people, and introduces Czech readers to the most interesting 20th and 21st-century illustrators.
Cesta k nové budově Západočeské galerie v Plzni
pozemek U Zvonu
23/09/2020 to 30/11/2020
Výstava na pozemku U Zvonu shrnující cestu k nové budově Západočeské galerie v Plzni.
PASS IT ON! Aspects of collaboration in the work of UMPRUM students
výstavní síň Masné krámy
12/05/2020 to 01/11/2020
Cooperation is an essential part for the functionality and development of human society, especially nowadays indicating that interconnectedness between individuals and disciplines brings more comprehensive solutions to current needs and various problems. The exhibition Pass it on! Aspects of collaboration in the work of UMPRUM students, shows aspects of cooperation in regards to creating and proving the power of sharing and mutual assistance.
FROM WORK TO ENTERTAINMENT. Leisure and art in the 19th century
výstavní síň „13“
21/02/2020 to 27/09/2020
This exhibition is part of the annual Pilsen Symposium on 19th-Century Issues, where the theme for the symposium’s fortieth year is the greater leisure time enjoyed by various strata of society in the 19th century.
Architect Pietro Nobile (1776–1854): Neoclassicism between Technique and Beauty
exhibition hall
20/11/2019 to 09/02/2020
This is the first exhibition devoted to this architect, who became the head of the Architecture School at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna.
For One’s Honour, For Art’s Glory. Collections and Collectors from 1600 to 1960
exhibition hall Masné krámy
25/10/2019 to 23/02/2020
Výstava připomene jména barokních šlechtických sběratelů, často vázaných k západním Čechám (Černínové, Lažanští, Šternberkové, Lobkovicové), dále milovníky umění z měšťanských kruhů 19. století a rovněž slavné sběratele spojené především s moderním uměním, jakými byli Vincenc Kramář, Emanuel Hloupý, František Čeřovský či Václav Butta.
Studio Najbrt Basics
exhibition hall
11/09/2019 to 03/11/2019
Aleš Najbrt is one of the best known and most successful Czech graphic designers to emerge since the 1989 Velvet Revolution. Over the last thirty years he has developed a distinctive style that has won him prizes in the Czech Republic and other countries, and he set up a graphic studio that now has almost twenty employees. He also remains active in other fields.
Jiří Slíva. Through Drawing to Sense
exhibition hall
26/06/2019 to 25/08/2019
Jiří Slíva (born in 1947 in Pilsen) is a cartoonist, graphic artist, musician, poet, sociologist and futurologist who has become a phenomenon on the Czech and European art scene thanks to his humorous drawings, illustrations and graphic art. His work has been featured in more than 180 books, several of them devoted solely to his work. Jiří Slíva has won numerous awards and is featured in many public and private collections. He has worked as a freelance artist since 1979.
KUBIŠTA – FILLA. A Pilsen Disputation
exhibition hall Masné krámy
07/06/2019 to 29/09/2019
The exceptional significance of the Gallery of West Bohemia’s collections of works by Bohumil Kubišta and Emil Filla has already been highlighted in earlier exhibitions and publications. The gallery’s most recent overview of Czech Cubism was Cubism 1910–1925. Cubism in the Collections of the Gallery of West Bohemia in Pilsen, an exhibition held in 2009 with an accompanying publication.
A Career with a Palette. The Artist and Artistry in the 19th Century
exhibition hall
20/03/2019 to 09/06/2019
After 1800 a major theme in the modern era was the artist himself, his status in society and the developing of his self-confidence as an artist face to face with an anonymous public. Important aspects of this process were the new custom of presenting artworks at exhibitions that were open to the public, as well the institutionalisation of art education and practice.
Go to the Countryside! Fine Art and Folk Culture in the Czech Lands 1800–1960
exhibition hall Masné krámy
01/03/2019 to 12/05/2019
Folk culture covers a quite heterogeneous variety of folk art. This exhibition is the first to examine the relationship between folk culture and fine art in the Czech Lands from the early 19th century to the latter half of the 20th century. It highlights the culture of country people, which played a much more crucial role in Czech art than popular culture from the urban environment.
The Studio of the Republic. Pilsen Architecture from 1918 to 1938
exhibition hall "13"
21/11/2018 to 24/02/2019
Besides a few individual examples, the city of Pilsen is usually not perceived as a remarkable city from the point of view of architectural development in the new era. However, this is not attributable to a lack of noteworthy designs or implementations, but rather comes down to a lack of knowledge, along with numerous destructive interventions in the second half of the 20th century and a persisting emphasis by historians on avant-garde concepts.
From the Academy to Nature. Forms of Landscape Painting in Central Europe 1860–1890
exhibition hall Masné krámy
10/10/2018 to 27/01/2019
The aim of this exhibition is to introduce the main centres of landscape painting instruction that influenced the depiction of nature and natural motifs. In the second half of the 19th century, following the example of the Barbizon School, approaches to the depiction of nature were relaxed. The discipline of landscape painting was gradually reformed, and also re-introduced at art academies.
The year 1918 and Art in Pilsen. Czechoslovak Autonomy in the History of Pilsen Art Life 1914–1928
exhibition hall "13"
07/09/2018 to 04/11/2018
Although this exhibition attempts to capture the impact of major historical events on cultural and art life in Pilsen between 1914 and 1928, the axis of this probe is the establishment of Czechoslovakia on the 28th of October 1918. This event was an essential stimulus for regional art life. The democratic ethos of an independent republic appealed to the emancipation of regional culture that had been overlooked by the centralist, hierarchal cultural model of the monarchy.
The Year 1968 and Art in Czechoslovakia
výstavní síň Masné krámy
20/06/2018 to 16/09/2018
This exhibition focuses on the period from 1966 to 1973, when it was evident that domestic art was becoming more emancipated and confidently involved in international structures on the art scene. It reacts to or foresees every important theme and approach – new geometry, new figuration, conceptual art, and art of action.
UNDERLINED… Luboš Drtina: graphic works, illustrations, artists’ books, autonomous art production
výstavní síň „13“
25/05/2018 to 26/08/2018
Luboš Drtina has significantly influenced applied graphics. His precise and unmistakable book, magazine, and other graphic works sensitively reflect the literal value of the title (as seen in his bibliophile edition, which is mostly poetry), and, at the same time, are based on individual opinions formed by his own free creation and artists’ books.
Time, Time, Time… in 19th Century Art
výstavní síň „13“
23/02/2018 to 06/05/2018
This exhibition was created in connection with the interdisciplinary symposium traditionally held in Pilsen. The title for the 38th year is: Understanding the Second; Time in 19th Century Culture. The exhibition displays important chapters in the extensive and fundamental problem of human perception and depiction that radically changed during the 19th century.
Trauma / Distress / Ecstasy / Emptiness. Formulas of Pathos 1900–2018
výstavní síň Masné krámy
16/02/2018 to 27/05/2018
This exhibition attempts to map the transformation of the human body's expressive structures in art in the past 120 years. The idea of the exhibition is based on the concept of “formulas of pathos”, with which Aby Warburg labelled artistic representations of tense emotional states.
"In That Housel Thou Art All Runishly". Variations of Eucharistic Christ in Visual Culture
exhibition hall "13"
20/10/2017 to 04/02/2018
The Eucharist is one of the fundamental parts of the Cult of Christianity, and through it the Last Supper of Jesus Christ is commemorated by the partaking of wine and bread and giving thanks for salvation. The Eucharist has greatly inspired visual arts due to its special and essential place in Christian life.
BACK THEN IN EUROPE. Czech Artists in Totalitarian Regimes 1938–1953
exhibition hall Masné krámy
22/09/2017 to 21/01/2018
The 1940s was an almost apocalyptical period of two totalities and one war, the time of the absence of freedom and of constant danger, when hundreds of thousands of refugees were streaming across Europe and outside it unwanted, when millions were abducted and murdered. And what about the arts? The only realm of the real creative freedom remains within the artists themselves, within their desires and anger.
LIGHT, TWILIGHT AND DARKNESS. Art of the Czech 19th Century
exhibition hall "13"
24/02/2017 to 21/05/2017
The exhibition is a part of the program relating to the current theme of the 37th year of the Pilsen interdisciplinary symposium on the issues of the 19th century which is organized annually within the Smetana Days Festival; this year, the theme of the scientific symposium is “Light, Shadows, and Darkness in Czech Culture of the 19th Century”.
SOULFUL INTERIORS. Artistic dwelling in Adolf Loos’ architectural spaces in Pilsen
exhibition hall Masné krámy
01/02/2017 to 30/04/2017
The fundamental inspiration for the exhibition represents a unique historical and cultural phenomenon – eight residential environments designed in the 1930s by Adolf Loos for clients in Pilsen.
Vanished Pilsen
výstavní síň „13“
04/11/2016 to 05/02/2017
By means of historical paintings from the collections of the Gallery of West Bohemia, photographs, models and a wide range of documents, the exhibition evokes buildings and whole city parts that disappeared or have undergone significant changes.
HUGO BOETTINGER (1880–1934)
výstavní síň Masné krámy
11/10/2016 to 08/01/2017
Hugo Boettinger, a son of the Pilsen photographer Josef Böttinger, was a popular portrait painter of the high society, a creator of fragile girls’ nudes, and an author of humoristic paints known to the broad public as Dr. Desiderius at the same time. Boettinger’s portrait drawings were particularly popular, frequently exhibited and published during his life.
Turning Pages. Modern Book Culture in the Czech Fine Arts
výstavní síň „13“
15/06/2016 to 16/10/2016
This exhibition prepared by the Olomouc Museum of Art presents its collection activities, which pervaded the domain of book culture in the middle of the 1990s. The exhibition, hidden under the ambivalent name Leafing Through, shows Museum’s both book collections.
Inter-war Modernism in the Collections of the Gallery of West Bohemia in Pilsen
výstavní síň Masné krámy
27/04/2016 to 18/09/2016
The collection of interwar art is one of the most important parts of the collections of the Gallery of West Bohemia in Pilsen. The exhibition presents almost a hundred artworks (paintings, sculptures, drawings) created in the 1920s and 1930s by over twenty leading Czech artists.
Elements Inside Us. Catastrophe and Its Reflection in the 19th Century Culture
výstavní síň „13“
26/02/2016 to 22/05/2016
The exhibition is a part of the programme on the current theme of the 36th year of the inter-disciplinary symposium about the issues of the 19th century held annually in Pilsen within the festival Smetanovské dny.
Nobility & Piety. Baroque Art in the Pilsen Region and West Bohemia
exhibition hall Masné krámy
28/10/2015 to 20/03/2016
The exhibition is one of the main projects of Pilsen – the European Capital of Culture 2015.
HANUŠ ZÁPAL (1885–1964) Pilsen architect
exhibition hall "13"
07/10/2015 to 07/02/2016
Although Hanuš Zápal (1885-1964 ) was the greatest architect of the 20th century in Pilsen, very little attention was paid to him. Several decades later, having been completely forgotten, his name is now known and many of his achievements are protected cultural monuments; however, a comprehensive monograph of his work is still lacking.
Rembrandt’s Tram. Cubism, Tradition and "Other" Arts
exhibition hall "13"
10/06/2015 to 13/09/2015
The pioneers of Czech Cubism drew on a broad base of inspirations to formulate their creative and intellectual ideas. They embraced a variety of European and non-European cultures of different periods: from Antiquity to the Middle Ages to the Early Modern Age and up to modern French art represented by Paul Cézanne, André Derain, and Pablo Picasso.
Gottfried Lindauer (1839–1926). Pilsen Painter of the New Zealand Māori
exhibition hall Masné krámy
06/05/2015 to 20/09/2015
This exhibition is one of the main projects of Pilsen – European Capital of Culture 2015 and has been prepared in cooperation with the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.
The very first retrospective of the artist presents his early European works alongside his famous portraits of major figures in Māori history.
The Risk of Loyalty? Austrian, German and Czech Cultural Loaylties in 19th century Czech Art
exhibition hall
18/02/2015 to 17/05/2015
Works of art are usually connected with the creative process, to a great extent represented by free imagination. The origins of modern styles are thus demonstrated mostly by works that were not commissioned and were offered via exhibitions, social contacts or through gallerists. However, identity search and therefore artworks fulfilling the function of state, community, religious or dynastic representation belong to the modern tradition as well.
Munich – the Shining Metropolis of Art 1870-1918
exhibition hall Masné krámy
28/01/2015 to 06/04/2015
The exhibition is one of the main projects of the official programme of Pilsen – the European Capital of Culture 2015.
Josef Váchal. He Wrote, Engraved, Printed and Bound Books
exhibition hall Masné krámy
15/10/2014 to 01/01/2015
Josef Váchal (1884–1969) was an artist who devoted his talents to a wide range of activities and whose work has yet to be fully appreciated. He drew, he painted, he carved sculptures and furniture, he etched, he created his own typeface, he bound books and he wrote them. However he saw himself primarily as a creator of woodprints, which he collated in the many original publications and books he produced.
Rhythms + Motion + Light. Impulses of Futurism in Czech Art
exhibition hall Masné krámy
19/10/2012 to 13/01/2013
The exhibition focuses on how Czech art of the first third of the 20th century depicted and evoked the dynamism of the modern era. Futurism, with its emphasis on motion and speed, was a fundamental impulse, but one that far from exhausts the theme under examination. More stimuli can be sought outside the circle of futurists; independent conclusions drawn from the principles of dynamics led some artists to remarkable solutions.
THE BEGINNING OF THE CENTURY. Czech Art of the First Decade of the 21st Century
výstavní síň Masné krámy
04/05/2012 to 05/08/2012
What did the beginning of the 21st century look like on the Czech art scene? What works have been exhibited? Which of them provoked the biggest discussion? These and other questions lie at the heart of the exhibition which presents three dozen figures of the young generation of Czech artists whose activity has shaped the first decade of the new century.
Adolf Loos – Works in the Czech Lands
výstavní síň Masné krámy
12/10/2011 to 08/01/2012
The exhibition brings the first comprehensive presentation of the activities of Adolf Loos in the Czech lands between 1900 and 1933, supplemented by the latest findings which are the result of years of research. It presents unique photographs and archival documents on both realized and unrealized projects of Adolf Loos, including those that Adolf Loos only co-authored.
Josef Bolf / Ivan Pinkava. Where the place – Upon the heath
výstavní síň „13“
06/10/2010 to 06/02/2011
The project Where the place – Upon the heath presents two authors whose work is permeated by common features. Both concentrate on expressing of fundamental moments of human experience. Issues of birth, wounding and death play a key role here. Their significance for the development and forming of consciousness is retained and elaborated on many situational levels and in many content facets. Each of the artists develops the theme by means of expression of a different medium.