<h1>A COOL BREEZE</h1>
<h1>A COOL BREEZE</h1>
<h1>A COOL BREEZE</h1>

Through a collection of works by seventeen international artists, the exhibition A COOL BREEZE exposes new possibilities of spatial depiction of a figure in contemporary art. The main theme is a new concept of the classical sculptural theme – the human body – which is increasingly being processed in an unusual way and using non-traditional materials. The exhibition is trying to confront the past with the present to bring to light the fundamental shifts in contemporary sculpture.

By choosing the paradigm of human figure, we are faced with the socio-anthropological issue that uncovers the past conventional codes of human ideal and beauty. The challenge inherent in the figure sculptural tradition leads to the most progressive and the most innovative examples of contemporary sculpture.

“It is evident that many artists still consider the human body, the figure as a key means of their artistic expression; a way through which one can comment on the very contemporary issues of identity representation, social issues of specific groups, cultural values and symbols. The result is a confrontation with classical aesthetic values and modernist forms,” said Petr Nedoma, curator and director of Galerie Rudolfinum.

Contemporary sculptural production blends reinterpretation of tradition, search for resources in non-Christian cultures, free treatment of abstract tendencies, adoption of various installation practices, relying on the narrative as opposed to more or less emptied-out symbols, ironic comments on old techniques, social role of the individual in the context of Western society, all in motion back and forth between abstraction and anatomy in a variety of techniques and ways.

The human body has ceased to be the exclusive and practically the only means to articulate binding ideas and themes in rigid form, derived, through complex distillation, from the intersection of the whole history of the field. The body is no longer the subject. Artists use the figure more in the sense of a catalyst, using it to formulate ways in which our Western culture conveys identities, social positions and values. They deal with current issues of the influence of mass media, issues of violence, the situation in society, whether inside or outside our cultural circle, their works being unusual mirrors of our accepted codes and conventions representing it the humane.

“Each and every one of the seventeen exhibited works, as well as the exhibition as a whole, has an extraordinarily powerful aura and story. We tried to bring it out, to emphasize it so that it leave an emotional footprint in this flood of information,” concludes the curator Petr Nedoma.

 

Admission free thanks to the Avast Foundation.

 

Exhibited artists: Elmgreen & Dragset, Ron Mueck, Athar Jaber, Yinka Shonibare, Stella Hamberg, Paloma Varga Weisz, Stephan Balkenhol, Isa Genzken, Melik Ohanian, Krištof Kintera, Roger Hiorns, Georg Herold, Christian Holstad, Antony Gormley, Thomas Houseago, Frank Benson, Thomas Schütte

Curator: Petr Nedoma

ARTPARK – EIGHT HEADS

With the exhibition A COOL BREEZE, Artpark, the relaxation and educational centre of Galerie Rudolfinum, gets a new look. The creative project by collaborating artists Barbora Fastrová and Johana Pošová under the title Eight Heads for Artpark, plays with canons used throughout history as a reflection of the exhibition. The installation illustrates in a humorous way the rules on body proportions taught in drawing or modelling lessons. The viewer will have a chance to test – on their own body – their literal meaning. Until August Artpark will run a programme of educational content for school groups but also for the public, including popular children’s workshops every Sunday.

Accompanying events

A COOL BREEZE // Exhibition Opening

A COOL BREEZE // Exhibition Opening

Opening of the exhibition A COOL BREEZE takes place on…

24/04/2019
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Artpark Opening | Eight Heads

Artpark Opening | Eight Heads

Artpark – EIGHT HEADS Opening on Wednesday, 24 April…

24/04/2019
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Guided Tour | A Cool Breeze

Guided Tour | A Cool Breeze

How do contemporary artists reflect the classical theme…

08/08/2019
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A COOL BREEZE | intro | Galerie Rudolfinum

Monday CLOSED

Tuesday–Sunday 10–18

Thursday 10–20

Dear visitors, the last entry to the exhibition is possible no later than 30 minutes before the end of opening hours.

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