THE BEGINNING OF THE CENTURY. Czech Art of the First Decade of the 21st Century

The exhibition The Beginning of the Century is based on an examination of the recent past. It strives to show what the first decade of the 21st century was like on the Czech art scene. Many of the works presented consist of those that provoked discussions during that period or significantly shifted the discourse of contemporary art. Despite the fact that they are still fresh and they strongly influence the current scene, to a certain extent they’ve already withstood the test of time.   They demonstrate which media and approaches were used by artists in the first decade, what they were thinking about or what they were trying to change. Many of the works were created in a different context and for a certain space as reactions to events in society or to works of other artists. Exhibited today, they logically lose some of their original messages and meanings, but in mutual confrontation they acquire new ones. In this way they reveal new relations and as a whole demonstrate the changed nature of art in the 21st century.
The exhibition presents key figures of the past decade – in addition to the nought generation, artists who began exhibiting in the latter half of the 1990s are also presented here. Four individuals defy generational categorisation in this selection: Jiří Kovanda, Jiří Surůvka, Milena Dopitová and Markéta Othová – the roots of some approaches developed at the start of the century can be found in their work.
All media appear here just as they do on the current art scene: painting, photography, video sculptures, objects, installations, as well as projects and activities that cannot be easily assigned to an individual medium. Combining different media, post-conceptual work with forms and content, the undermining and expansion of the borders of art toward social and political activities are typical for the present-day post-media situation. The dominating medium of the young generation is that of video. The “video-cinema”, featuring a precisely composed programme for the entire day, is therefore an integral part of the exhibition
The exhibition The Beginning of the Century takes a look at Czech visual arts over the course of this century’s first decade and unveils its most essential aspects that are still found in the work of today’s youngest generation of Czech artists.

VISITOR PROGRAMME
24 May 2012  The Beginning of the Century in the Public Space / one-day festival
25 May 2012  Museum Night

Guided tours of the exhibition with its author Pavlína Morganová:
24 May 2012 at 4:30 p.m.
26 June 2012 at 5 p.m.

Open daily except Mondays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Concept and curated by: Pavlína Morganová
Exhibition Curator from ZČG: Marcela Štýbrová
Exhibition Architect: Zbyněk Baladrán
Graphic Design: Martin Odehnal
Installation: Jan Jirka, Petr Kutek, Jaroslav Pašek, firma VETAMBER
Print: Dragon Print s.r.o.
Visitor Programme: Jiří Hlobil, Marcela Štýbrová, Denisa Václavová

Loaned by
The Gallery Klatovy / Klenová, The Olomouc Museum of Art, Zdeněk Sklenář Gallery, Jiří Švestka Gallery, Hunt Kastner Artworks and private owners

Acknowledgements
Daniel Morgan, René Rohan

The exhibition received financial support from the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and from the Statutory City of Pilsen.

Sponsors 
QMI, Plzeňská teplárenská, Panasonic, Plzeňský prazdroj, ARTEX ART SERVICES

Media Partners
Art+Antiques, Dějiny a současnost, PLZEN.CZ, Český rozhlas Plzeň