EXTERNAL EXHIBITION
Kars Gallery, in collaboration with the Lidice Art Collection, presents an exhibition titled "Celebration of Life".
Jean Berthier, sir Roger de Gray, Thore Heramb, Hans van Leuwen, Ger Maas, Kåre Tveter, Emilio Vedova, Karl Bianga, Hans Orlowski, Alberto Soto, Anna Marie Saint-Blanquart , Vojtěch Tittelbach, Jitka Válová, Karel Malich & Endre Tót
The exhibition brings together a selection of artworks from the Lidice Art Collection, one of the Czech Republic's most significant international public collections. It was formed entirely through the generosity of donors and stands as a long-term international expression of solidarity that began in the shadow of one of the worst Nazi crimes of the Second World War. Together with the collections in Skopje and Sarajevo, it is one of Europe's few solidarity collections.
The idea of creating an art collection for Lidice was first discussed in 1962 by Sir Barnett Stross (1899–1967) and Marie Janošová (1920–1998), a surviving Lidice Woman who also served as its mayor between 1960 and 1989. In 1966, Stross invited artists to donate works in memory of the village's victims and to celebrate life's return to Lidice. Czech artists who responded included Vladimír Jarcovják, Jitka and Květa Válová, Karel Váca, Eva Kmentová, and Olbram Zoubek. International artists included Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke, and Joseph Beuys. These and other artists were secured over the years by the Berlin gallerist and donor René Block.
The Lidice Art Collection today comprises 610 works and continues to grow. It stands as an example of strengthened solidarity in contemporary art, memory, and society. At a time when society often slides toward superficiality and cynicism amid a constant flow of information, manipulation, and scrolling that can lead to fact overload and numbness to evil, these works remind us that even in the most difficult moments, there is room for hope and human dignity.
EXHIBITION PARTNERS
KARS GALLERY co-organises the exhibition, supported by ArtMap and Artalk.
