Prague art diaries: Galerie Rudolfinum and the UNEXPECTED exhibition
Last weekend, my daughter and I visited the wonderful Galerie Rudolfinum, which is currently showcasing “UNEXPECTED,” an exhibition by the talented Ukrainian artist Zhanna Kadyrova.
We had planned to join the “Under the Open Sky – Art Workshop for Kids” organized by Galerie Rudolfinum. Usually held outdoors, the workshop was moved indoors due to the weather. The fee is 30 CZK for children and 90 CZK for parents who want to participate. You need to register in advance via email and arrive ten minutes early to buy your reserved tickets. We missed the workshop this time but met the friendly instructor, who kindly spoke to us in English. We hope to make it next time!
We enjoyed exploring the gallery, wandering up and down the stairs, looking out from the balconies, and walking through the corridors.
In one room, we found hammocks and drew in notebooks we bought from the museum shop. The shop sells small notebooks, drawing pencils, postcards, coloring sheets, bags, t-shirts, soaps, and more.
We then relaxed in the gallery’s stylish cafe. My daughter had a slice of brownie and homemade raspberry lemonade, while I enjoyed an oat flat white. We did some sticker art and coloring while sipping our drinks. The cafe also offers citrus-infused water from a self-serve glass tap, which my daughter loved.
Then we visited the exhibition, which offers free admission. While the exhibition focuses on the Ukrainian war, it is presented in a way that is suitable for young children. One room, in particular, moved me deeply. It was filled with abandoned houseplants, left behind by their owners who had to flee their destroyed homes. Seeing these plants, once part of peaceful and happy homes, made the reality of disrupted lives and broken homes very real. It was a powerful reminder of all the lived memories and cherished items, both living and inanimate, left behind.
If you want to know more about the exhibition, here is the gallery’s description:
On 24 February 2022, the world changed for all Ukrainians. War ravages the land, Ukrainians have become refugees in their own country, many have left for abroad. Unexpectedly, Zhanna Kadyrova’s reality also changed. She became a refugee, and making art as before made little sense. Confronted with a sense of uselessness, finding refuge in Berezovo, a small village in the Carpathian Mountains, she looks for answers. How can she be an artist when her country is being brutally invaded? What is her role? How can she help? For Kadyrova, the only possible way forward is to speak about life, culture and war in Ukraine today.
Throughout this exhibition, Kadyrova empowers objects and materials to tell the story of Ukraine’s fight for freedom from Russia. They become the voice of so many Ukrainians who remain voiceless in this violent war. The exhibition starts with a horizon of Shots (2022 – 2023), a set of tiles fractured by the impact of a gunshot, paired with Harmless War (2023), a series of white-painted geometrical forms made from metal sheets that have been pierced by shrapnel during the full-scale invasion in Ukraine. The exhibition also takes us through the deeply personal journey of Kadyrova since 2014 till today. As a symbolic closing of the exhibition, Refugees (2023) depicts images of plants surviving the occupation alongside living plants that have travelled together with Kadyrova from Ukraine to Germany and now to Prague, remaining safe and well cared for, and finding temporary shelter in the Galerie Rudolfinum.
Curator: Björn Geldhof
Bonus: Galerie Rudolfinum is joining Prague Museum Night 2024 and will remain open for visitors until 11 PM on Saturday, June 15, 2024. They are participating for the very first time in support of the event, which returns to Prague after a five-year break.
