GASK – EMIL FILLA, COLLECTION 123, ILLUMINATION, CONTACT
GASK opened to the public on 8 May. The second-largest gallery in the Czech Republic, it is housed in the beautiful baroque building of the former Jesuit College in Kutná Hora.The GASK team is the youngest on the art gallery scene. For the gallery’s first season, GASK presents a unique exhibition of works by Emil Filla. The show contains the artist’s archive and a selection from Erste Bank’s “Contact” conceptual art collection. There is also a permanent exhibition from the 123 collection. Also on display is a rare medieval illuminated manuscript depicting the mining and processing of silver, made in Kutná Hora in the 15th century.
- So, we're in Kutná Hora, it's May 8, 2010,00:00:07.028
- 00:00:07.028
- and we've just opened the Jesuit College,00:00:11.743
- 00:00:11.743
- the main center of the GASK.00:00:14.828
- 00:00:14.828
- I'm happy we did it, it took us a lot of work.00:00:18.531
- 00:00:18.531
- But it was wonderful work, although hard.00:00:25.429
- 00:00:25.429
- It must be said that the place, the context00:00:29.013
- 00:00:29.013
- and the aura of the Cathedral of St. Barbara00:00:32.722
- 00:00:32.722
- was quite odd at the beginning00:00:36.621
- 00:00:36.621
- but changed a lot while we were moving here00:00:39.334
- 00:00:39.334
- and getting to know the space,00:00:42.964
- 00:00:42.964
- the city and its people.00:00:45.931
- 00:00:45.931
- I could never succeed without my team.00:00:48.595
- 00:00:48.595
- Its members were wonderfully supportive00:00:52.623
- 00:00:52.623
- and I'm happy to have met them.00:00:56.183
- 00:00:56.183
- I think there is a unique connection00:00:58.958
- 00:00:58.958
- and a special synergy between us.00:01:02.479
- 00:01:02.479
- Without this, we could never do it.00:01:06.189
- 00:01:06.189
- So I think this is the base of the result,00:01:09.219
- 00:01:09.219
- you might even call it a success.00:01:12.505
- 00:01:12.505
- CLOAKROOM00:01:17.842
- 00:01:17.842
- The first exhibition, "Collections 1, 2, 3",00:01:51.332
- 00:01:51.332
- presenting the GASK's collections,00:01:55.016
- 00:01:55.016
- is based on a different concept00:01:57.851
- 00:01:57.851
- than, let's say, permanent exhibitions.00:02:01.009
- 00:02:01.009
- We wanted not only to show the collections00:02:04.520
- 00:02:04.520
- but also to present the institution00:02:07.989
- 00:02:07.989
- and the whole society since the 1960's.00:02:10.827
- 00:02:10.827
- That's why the order of the works00:02:14.910
- 00:02:14.910
- is not chronological,00:02:17.824
- 00:02:17.824
- according to the history of art.00:02:19.920
- 00:02:19.920
- It rather shows what works were bought00:02:22.611
- 00:02:22.611
- to the collections in different periods.00:02:25.637
- 00:02:25.637
- The main factor wasn't always quality.00:02:28.974
- 00:02:28.974
- The public may not realize what is hidden00:02:32.474
- 00:02:32.474
- in the gallery's depositories,00:02:35.900
- 00:02:35.900
- as they usually see only the best works.00:02:38.681
- 00:02:38.681
- Well, this is... It's fabulous in here!00:02:42.956
- 00:02:42.956
- Emil Filla's archive was put together00:02:51.147
- 00:02:51.147
- by art historians:00:02:54.561
- 00:02:54.561
- Vojtěch Lahoda, our top expert on Emil Filla00:02:56.916
- 00:02:56.916
- and author of a monograph on Filla,00:03:00.886
- 00:03:00.886
- and his colleague Tomáš Winter.00:03:03.567
- 00:03:03.567
- They collaborated on this project00:03:06.249
- 00:03:06.249
- with Zbyněk Baladrán and Jiří Týn00:03:09.103
- 00:03:09.103
- who are contemporary artists.00:03:12.111
- 00:03:12.111
- The theme of the archive is interesting00:03:14.741
- 00:03:14.741
- not only for art historians,00:03:18.661
- 00:03:18.661
- such as the projects of Aby Warburg00:03:23.485
- 00:03:23.485
- or André Malraux,00:03:26.485
- 00:03:26.485
- but also for contemporary artists,00:03:28.560
- 00:03:28.560
- like Zbyněk, who use the archive00:03:31.393
- 00:03:31.393
- as a means of their own creation.00:03:34.551
- 00:03:34.551
- I've always been interested00:03:38.443
- 00:03:38.443
- in how to present an archive00:03:40.982
- 00:03:40.982
- and its visual aspect.00:03:43.608
- 00:03:43.608
- In this case, I found it important00:03:46.189
- 00:03:46.189
- to show it as a whole,00:03:49.053
- 00:03:49.053
- instead of interpreting it.00:03:51.924
- 00:03:51.924
- I wanted to try to present the whole thing00:03:54.957
- 00:03:54.957
- in order to enable every viewer00:03:58.821
- 00:03:58.821
- to find their own way to it00:04:01.938
- 00:04:01.938
- and to think about the reasons00:04:05.242
- 00:04:05.242
- for creating this archive.00:04:08.050
- 00:04:08.050
- My idea was to put the whole archive in the air.00:04:10.369
- 00:04:10.369
- It's one of the several ways00:04:14.026
- 00:04:14.026
- to look at paintings of different sizes00:04:16.424
- 00:04:16.424
- and quantities.00:04:19.973
- 00:04:19.973
- It's still shaking, anyway. I can see it.00:04:22.197
- 00:04:22.197
- Of course, the archive was not categorized00:04:25.614
- 00:04:25.614
- at the beginning.00:04:29.199
- 00:04:29.199
- Z. Baladrán,00:04:31.295
- 00:04:31.295
- and especially V. Lahoda and T. Winter00:04:33.795
- 00:04:33.795
- tried to find a key to interpret it.00:04:36.563
- 00:04:36.563
- Great, thanks!00:04:42.429
- 00:04:42.429
- It'll be intelligible to everyone.00:04:45.461
- 00:04:45.461
- There is a time axis behind me,00:04:48.340
- 00:04:48.340
- created by Jiří Franta and David Bém.00:04:50.966
- 00:04:50.966
- It's one of the concepts00:04:56.793
- 00:04:56.793
- connected with the Instruction Center00:04:58.833
- 00:04:58.833
- where I urge contemporary artists00:05:02.033
- 00:05:02.033
- to try to catch the interest00:05:05.608
- 00:05:05.608
- of the general public00:05:09.983
- 00:05:09.983
- and to present the contemporary art to them.00:05:13.684
- 00:05:13.684
- So the guys created this subjective time axis.00:05:18.186
- 00:05:18.186
- Downstairs, there is a children's spot00:05:33.557
- 00:05:33.557
- with an unusual design by Eva Koťátková.00:05:38.384
- 00:05:38.384
- Behind this wall, there is a studio00:05:50.544
- 00:05:50.544
- designed by Jan Fabián.00:05:54.049
- 00:05:54.049
- Oh, you want me to speak louder?00:05:56.327
- 00:05:56.327
- There are several levels to the studio 1:00:05:59.566
- 00:05:59.566
- First, the inspirational level00:06:03.930
- 00:06:03.930
- based on nature and history.00:06:06.915
- 00:06:06.915
- It's connected with the next level -00:06:11.278
- 00:06:11.278
- the bookcase, education...00:06:14.037
- 00:06:14.037
- The next step is the media spot00:06:16.952
- 00:06:16.952
- presenting digitalization and so on.00:06:19.594
- 00:06:19.594
- Then there is a lab, a symbol of exploration00:06:22.523
- 00:06:22.523
- and science,00:06:26.314
- 00:06:26.314
- destined either for simple mixing of colors,00:06:29.419
- 00:06:29.419
- or for deeper research.00:06:32.847
- 00:06:32.847
- There are a few acacias that establish00:06:35.626
- 00:06:35.626
- a parallel between man - nature00:06:40.380
- 00:06:40.380
- and product - city.00:06:43.677
- 00:06:43.677
- That's it, I guess.00:06:46.529
- 00:06:46.529
- OK, thanks. Now open the cupboard, will you?00:06:48.824
- 00:06:48.824
- They are really important people,00:08:24.165
- 00:08:24.165
- extraordinary and unique personages00:08:29.632
- 00:08:29.632
- like Edward Krasinski,00:08:35.307
- 00:08:35.307
- Stano Filko or Karel Malich.00:08:37.807
- 00:08:37.807
- They are the very icons of modern art00:08:41.247
- 00:08:41.247
- of the 2nd half of the 20th century.00:08:45.057
- 00:08:45.057
- One their continuators is Jiří Kovanda,00:08:47.937
- 00:08:47.937
- already from the 1970's00:08:52.701
- 00:08:52.701
- when he was totally unknown in our country.00:08:56.180