Jiří Kolář: X Bienal de São Paulo

This intimate exhibition at the National Gallery Prague's Veletržní Palace (2nd floor, within the collection display 1939–2021: The End of the Black-and-White Era) commemorates Jiří Kolář's participation in the X Biennial of São Paulo in 1969, where he became one of eight foreign laureates of the biennial prize. Through archival photographs and period documents from the biennial archive and Czech museum collections, including the National Gallery's holdings, the exhibition partially reconstructs Kolář's award-winning presentation and places it within a broader political context. The tenth edition of the São Paulo Biennial is notoriously remembered in the history of the exhibition for a boycott, when numerous Brazilian and foreign artists protested against censorship and human rights violations by the Brazilian military dictatorship. This coincided with a period more than a year after the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops. Although Czechoslovak state officials were aware of the boycott, it remains unclear to what extent the artists themselves were informed about it. Jiří Kolář's decision to refuse an interview for the journal Výtvarná práce can be seen as a possible expression of significant silence – shortly thereafter, the artist became a victim of persecution by the Czechoslovak state. The exhibition raises questions about the position of artists working under complex political conditions, both at home and in places where their works are displayed. The exhibition is curated by Rado Ištok. The exhibition is open from 27 March to 30 August 2026.