Nude 2016

Gallery: New Gallery
Town: Prague
Country: Czech republic

NUDE 2016

In Nová Galerie dozens of half naked women will crowd! Nová Galerie has prepared an exceptional collection of paintings by 26 artists. The common denominator of the whole exhibition is the theme of nudes. The nude as a theme that attracts not only artists themselves. With this exhibition, Nová Galerie is opening a cycle of theme based exhibitions.

The exhibition NUDE 2016 presents one of the crucial themes in visual art. That is, the depiction of the naked human body, which is a subject matter seen mainly in the artistic tradition of the Western culture. Through the contained collection of artwork by 26 distinct Czech and Slovak painters of different generations, the exhibition illustrates not only the diversity of approaches to painting from nude models today but also its notional development: how the approach to depicting the nude changes with the different generations and how, more or less successfully, a balance between art and pornography has been achieved. With this exhibition, Nová Galerie is opening a cycle of theme based exhibitions.

At the joint exhibition, visitors will have the opportunity to see works of the following represented artists:

Císařovský Tomáš, David Jiří, Dúbravský Andrej, Englberth Miloš, Janečková Walshe Katarina, Janovský Jakub, Krajc Martin, Kůrka Filip, Kunc Milan, Lomová Ivana, Matoušek František, Mainer Martin, Načeradský Jiří, Nagypal Michal, Pangrác Pavel, Petrov Lyuben, Písařík Petr, Rapant Michal, Rittstein Michal, Róna Jaroslav, Salajka Martin, Symůnek Alfréd, Štech Adam, Špaňhel Jakub, Šmíd Pavel, Typlt Lubomír

“...for our exhibition NUDE 2016 the meaning predominantly used in painting, photography, sculpture can be applied – the naked human body...obviously, the word ‘akt’ - act - is perceived and used differently and quite frequently by people in various domains of their doing...

...a nude human body...depicted or standing in front of you in flesh and blood...a female nude, a male nude...a gorilla nude...nudity...embarrassment...skin...the splendour and misery of the body...ecce homo…

...bodies are able to create other bodies from themselves...the highest law and life itself and death itself...heaven and hell...Eden...the belly of life...power and impotence...permeability...surrender...enlightenment...the materialized symbol of life polarity in the bodies of the human race...a cat nude is generally not talked about much...it has fur, it isn’t nude...

...liveliness, the incredible complexity and perfection of the whole structure of the body and mind is coated with the kind beauty of the skin, hair and the look in the eyes...the soul beholds the body...a human on seeing the nudity of another human is amazed...sometimes moved...painting a nude model is as old as painting itself...nude men and nude women running and naked children, often winged, stand, sit, lie around in paintings and statues of all times, it is a fancy, pride and the power of skill...

...nowadays, this painting theme is somewhat pushed aside by the incredible expansion of photography and film, and primarily by the monumental and truly epochal influence of pornography...

...the painters’ need to depict the naked body changes in time, from the art code and divine love in antiquity to the forbidden fruit of later times then to become a common and substantial theme of heaven, battle, religious and allegoric scenes, scenes of joy of life or mesmerism by feminine beauty to the infinite number of naked bodies of all races and shapes on computer screens...

...never before in the history of humankind could a person so easily see pictures of naked people, to see what people all across the Earth look like, to examine their shapes, colours, expressions and peculiarities, to get a detailed view of all the body parts and expressions of excitement and physical pleasure – there is no parallel, it is a peculiar social phenomenon, for artists and the majority of people surely a great source of inspiration, self-amiability, for others limbo or even hell itself...

...the artists’, spectators’, art lovers’ and investors’ need for the nude still persists and the currency of the nude returns in waves again and again...an exhibition of nudes will surely be welcome by a wide range of people...the truth is that almost everyone I know who paints or takes photographs sometimes deals with the nude body or at least attempts to address the theme from time to time as I do...for some it is their program...for some not at all...

...personally, I am somewhat intimidated by the nude...it takes great effort for me to paint a nude for the sake of painting a nude...it is so hackneyed...and then, when I start painting I search for the how, and not only why, and I realize, among other things, the allegoricalness of the depicted human body – for example shyness, joy, strength, calmness, enlightenment...and I like that and it helps me continue with other paintings, to experience a theme and spend a longer time on it, to pass on something from myself through the “nude” to the others...

...the nude is a classic...the exhibiting artists are all strong personalities of almost all generations of Czech painting, from existing and future classics to students, however students of fellow painters...who paints nudes is a classic...the gallery is bursting at the seams, there is no airy kunsthalle...body to body...whoever enters will not regret it...”

Martin Mainer, January 2016.