Jan Švankmajer Reliquaries & Fetishes
EXHIBITION DURATION | JUNE 14 – OCTOBER 3, 2026
EXHIBITION OPENING | JUNE 13 | 5:00 PM
EXHIBITION CLOSING | OCTOBER 3, 2026
EXHIBITION CURATOR AND TEXT AUTHOR | JAKUB ŘEHÁK
JAN ŠVANKMAJER (*SEPTEMBER 4, 1934, PRAGUE)
FILM SCREENWRITER AND DIRECTOR, SCENOGRAPHER, ILLUSTRATOR, DRAUGHTSMAN, GRAPHIC ARTIST, CREATOR OF COLLAGES AND OBJECTS, ANIMATOR, WRITER, AND COLLECTOR. AN INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNISED SURREALIST AND THE AUTHOR OF AN EXCEPTIONALLY EXTENSIVE BODY OF WORK.
HE STUDIED SCENOGRAPHY AT THE COLLEGE OF APPLIED ARTS IN PRAGUE AND LATER GRADUATED IN DIRECTING AND SCENOGRAPHY FROM THE PUPPET THEATRE DEPARTMENT OF THE ACADEMY OF PERFORMING ARTS IN PRAGUE, WHERE HE MET EVA DVOŘÁKOVÁ, HIS FUTURE WIFE AND COLLABORATOR. FOLLOWING HIS EARLY THEATRE EXPERIENCE IN THE 1960s (THEATRE OF MASKS AT SEMAFOR, LATERNA MAGIKA), HE DEVOTED HIMSELF FULLY TO AUTHORIAL FILMMAKING, FIRST IN SHORT FILMS AND LATER IN FEATURE-LENGTH WORKS. A DEFINING MOMENT FOR HIM WAS HIS ENCOUNTER WITH THE CZECHOSLOVAK SURREALIST GROUP, WHICH HE JOINED IN 1970. DURING THE PERIOD OF SO-CALLED “NORMALISATION,” HE WORKED AS A VISUAL ARTIST AND SPECIALIST IN SPECIAL EFFECTS AND ANIMATION FOR BARRANDOV FILM STUDIOS, WHILE ALSO COLLABORATING SEVERAL TIMES AS A SCENOGRAPHER WITH THE ČINOHERNÍ KLUB THEATRE. HE IS THE AUTHOR OF THE THEORETICAL TEXT TOUCH AND IMAGINATION AND THREE PROSE BOOKS (WAYS OF SALVATION, THE UNIFIED STREAM OF THOUGHT OR LIFE IS BORN IN THE MOUTH, NEGATIVE NOVEL). MANY OF HIS TEXTS WERE PUBLISHED IN THE SURREALIST REVIEW ANALOGON.
ON THE EXHIBITION JAN ŠVANKMAJER: RELIQUARIES & FETISHES
IN ŠVANKMAJER’S WORK, A TENSION EMERGES BETWEEN INTIMACY AND GRANDEUR. HIS PRACTICE INCLUDES OBJECTS THAT SEEM TO CALL FOR A MOMENT OF SOLITUDE, INVITING US TO TOUCH AND EXPLORE THEM WITH OUR HANDS. AT THE SAME TIME, ŠVANKMAJER CREATES EXPANSIVE WORLDS GOVERNED BY THEIR OWN INTERNAL LOGIC. PLAYFULNESS AND CHANCE FORM THEIR COMMON PRINCIPLE — CHANCE LEADING UNEXPECTED CONFIGURATIONS OF OBJECTS “INTO HIS HANDS,” THROUGH WHICH HE POETICALLY TRANSFORMS THE REALITY AROUND HIM.
ŠVANKMAJER’S WORK ENCOURAGES US NOT ONLY TO SEE ANEW, BUT ALSO TO “GRASP” THE WORLD AROUND US IN A LITERAL SENSE. ALL OF HIS ARTIFACTS, FILMS, DRAWINGS, AND WRITINGS ARE GUIDED BY HIS DESIRE TO OPEN NEW POSSIBILITIES OF PERCEPTION. THE AIM IS NOT PURE AESTHETIC PLEASURE, BUT RATHER THE AWAKENING OF “OTHER SENSES” AND THE EXPLORATION OF REALITY FROM PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN PERSPECTIVES — FOR EXAMPLE, TRANSFORMING A VISUAL EXPERIENCE INTO A TACTILE ONE.
THE RELIQUARIES PRESENT A DENSE ACCUMULATION OF HUMAN CIVILISATION, WHILE THE FETISHES ENDOW EVERYDAY OBJECTS WITH A MAGICAL SIGNIFICANCE.
JAKUB ŘEHÁK
