Decadence Now! is the international exhibition project for Galerie Rudolfinum, the House of Art in Brno, the West-Bohemian Gallery in Pilsen and DOX Centre for Contemporary Art.
Exhibitions of Decadence Now!:Otto M. Urban studied the history of arts and aesthetics at the Chair of Art History of the Faculty of Philosophy at Charles University in Prague where he later worked as an assistant at the Chair of Art History and then as research worker of the Institute of Art History with the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague. Since 1993, he has been lecturing on the history of modern Czech art in the CIEE courses (1993-1999), The School of the Art Institute in Chicago (2003 - 2008), New York University, Prague (1999 - now). In the years 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2005 he lectured on the history of modern Czech art at the University of Texas in Austin and, and in 2007 at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago.
Since the beginning of the 1990s, he has been intensively studying Central European symbolism and, mainly, the issue of decadence. He was the author or co-author of many exhibitions and published professional papers on decadence and symbolism in scientific magazines in the Czech Republic and other countries. In 2002, he was the author and editor of the monograph titled Creative and Critical Work of Karel Hlaváček. In 2006, he prepared a large-scale exhibition and a book on decadence in Bohemian regions titled In Sickly Colours. The Idea of Decadence and Arts in Bohemia Regions 1880 - 1914. This exhibition also became an official part of the presentation of the Czech culture during the Czech chairmanship of the European Union.
The book "In Sickly Colours: The Idea of Decadence and Arts in Bohemia Regions 1880 - 1914" was nominated for the Magnesia Litera 2007 award in the category of educational literature. For this book and for the monograph titled Edvard Munch: To Be Alone. Paintings - Diaries - Echoes, the author was nominated for the F. X. Šalda prize for 2007 and 2008.