5 art exhibits not to miss in Prague this August

If you live and study in Prague, you have probably noticed the overwhelming variety of cultural events that this city offers every month. In Prague, art waits for you on every corner, but the local art aficionados know that finding the best exhibitions requires some research.

We have saved you the trouble and found the five most captivating art exhibitions that you should visit in Prague this August. 

1. Alex Webb 
Where: Leica Gallery 
When: June 22 – August 26 

Alex Webb (1952, San Francisco, CA, USA) introduces a personal selection of photographs from his extensive life-long series as a part of an exclusive collaboration with Leica. The collection offers color images created within the past 30 years during Webb’s trips to India, Greece, Grenada, Haiti, Cuba, and Mexico. Magnum photographer, winner of the Guggenheim Fellowship, and an author of more than sixteen books, Alex Webb’s work erases the borders between journalism, documentary and fine-art photography. Complex in the use of light, color, and composition, his images capture everyday life and resonate with the world’s sociopolitical issues. 

2. Martin Krajc: “Tinto de verano.”
Where: DSC Gallery
When: July 18 – August 29

Martin Krajc (1984, Prague, CZ) studied Fine Arts in the Czech Republic and Spain. His work has a unique expressive manner, which he developed quite early in his career. Broad and powerful brushstrokes, striking color palettes, and a certain degree of straightforwardness make his paintings stand out in the crowd of contemporary Czech artists.   

3. “Oh, it is easy to be clever if one does not know all these questions” – a group exhibition curated by Pavel Büchler and Mariana Serranová
Where: DOX Gallery  
When: June 6 to September 10

This multimedia exhibition includes works by the artists from the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom. Curators Pavel Büchler and Mariana Serranová tried to avoid any specific narratives and cultural references, leaving us without any guidance for interpretation. The presented works take the viewer on a tour of multiple subjective artistic realities, linking instinct and imagination with perception and understanding. 

4. Hynek Martinec: “Voyage to Iceland”  
Where: Šternberský palác
When: April 27 to August 26

Hynek Martinec (1980, Broumov, CZ), dedicates his artistic practice to rediscovering classical painting techniques and finding a link between the 16th century and the present day. The paintings presented at his current exhibition touch upon the notions of time and collective memory, as well as the manipulation of history. This collection represents the artist’s personal response to the Baroque era. Curators Petr Nedoma and Otto M. Urban chose to organize the “Voyage to Iceland” at the Sternberg Palace to create a conceptual dialogue between the works of Martinec and the old masters such as Ribera, Rubens, and van Dyck. 

5. Silke Koch: “AFTER GRAVITY’S RAINBOW” 
Where: GALERIE FOTOGRAFIC
When:  July 25 – September 2

Silke Koch (1964, Leipzig, Germany) is a German conceptual multimedia artist. Koch’s photographic projects can be associated with the Becher school of photography, the documentary and analytical qualities of which profoundly influenced the development of Conceptual Art in the 1970s. Many artists of Koch’s generation focused their artistic research on analyses of the new socio-political situation that was formed by the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The world changed its direction, leading to the development of new trends in visual culture. For the “AFTER GRAVITY’S RAINBOW” project, Silke Koch channeled memories from her childhood in East Germany to create imaginary space objects from characteristic houseware familiar in the 1970s.  This exhibition deals with the concept of utopia and the fantasies of the mundane. 

If you are staying in Prague for your university summer break, these shows are a must-see. The evocative power of contemporary art and its ability to resonate with the diverse public can be used to dislocate power structures and social conventions. Contemporary artworks enquire into current socio-cultural issues, providing an opportunity for the stimulation of critical thinking. Whatever your major is, art can broaden your perspective and give you new ideas to reflect on. 

Image from DSC Gallery exhibition: Martin Krajc© “Tinto de verano”