Michal Novotný (*1985) is a curator of contemporary art, who is known for his group exhibitions focusing on a particular theme, which is a genre quite difficult to prepare and not very common on the Czech art scene. The question which arises is about the relationship between individual works of art and the topic of the exhibition which they are incorporated in. It is this relationship that Novotný finds important and makes it a subject of his own research and a significant aspect of his work. Let us mention some of his extensive group exhibitions, for example Graphic design (2015), Glass of Water (2013) or Five to Twelve (2011), which took place in the Centre for Contemporary Art FUTURA, whose director Novotný became in 2011. The last mentioned exhibition was symptomatic since it dealt with the theme of time as a concept, through which it is possible to capture different movements within the framework of art. These may be various retro-waves or attempts at mastering material with a thought of eternity. Among his solo exhibitions we ought to mention above all the recent exhibition of works by Anna Daučíková (FUTURA, 2016) or the joint exhibition of Harun Farocki and Zbyněk Baladrán (FUTURA, 2015), because both exhibitions contributed to Novotný being included in the list of the twenty most influential young curators in Europe, published in April 2016 on Artsy.
Besides his curatorial projects Michal Novotný also regularly contributes to leading Czech magazines, such as Photographer, Labyrinth, Flash Art or Artalk. Until the beginning of the year 2016 he was the chief editor of the Gallery section of the Czech cultural bi-monthly magazine A2. Recent international residencies include the prestigious Delfina Foundation (2016), ICI – Independent curators International New York (2011), Ville Arson in Nice (2013), Muzej Moderne i Suvremene Umjetnosti in Rijeka (2014) and the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans (2014).
Anna Remešová
