The collection of small artworks is just a fragment of the remarkable enterprise from the end of the 1960s, major part of which unfortunately disappeared in private collections.

Trnka is such a versatile artist that nobody has managed to write a definitive biography yet, even though two have been published quite recently,” said J. Orlíková. The exhibition features many unique artworks. “Visitors will be able to see some original puppets, made by Trnka himself, which haven’t been exhibited before. The National Gallery owns just replicas and some of the puppets were made especially for the artist’s family,” Orlíková pointed out .  You will also find here pictures which the family only rarely lend for exhibitions. The exhibition was named after Jiří Trnka’s book, the Garden, because it features illustrations from the publication among other pieces.

 

First time in Prague

You will find other interesting artworks at the exhibition as well. Apart from the illustrations for the book Broučci (Little Beatles) by Karafiát, you will be able to enjoy perusing a series of illustrations for the fairy-tale Babes in the Wood, which the Moravian Gallery bought several years ago and is now lending to City Prague. This is the first time these illustrations have been exhibited in Prague.

Owners unknown

Certainly worth attention is the small yet remarkable collection of sculptures made around 1966 and 1967, when they first appeared in Trnka’s exhibition in Nova sín in Prague. “At that time critics didn’t know what to make of them," J. Orlíková points out. The collection of beautiful pieces included artworks which were gathered in the master’s atelier. Just a few of them were placed in the National Gallery, the rest disappeared into private collections in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, where the international trade company Artia held an exhibition in 1969.  “Unfortunately I didn’t manage to track the owners down, not even with the help of contemporaries who worked in Artia. Still, you will be able to see some unique pieces,” said J. Orlíková.

Video is ready

At the beginning of the exhibitions, visitors will not be able to see any of Trnka’s movies because we still haven’t solved the copyright issues. “Nevertheless, we have the necessary funds available and it is just a question of a few days until the copyright issue is dealt with,” said Jiří Hamšík, chairman of the managing board of the Endowment fund Gallery Smečky.

Persian Shah loved him

A further proof of Trnka’s outstanding talent is his movie Árie prérie (Song of the Prairie), a puppet movie based on Brdeček’s Lemonade Joe, which became the favourite movie of the last Persian Shah Muhamad Reza Pahlavi. “Every year he asked for up to five copies of the movie to be sent to him,” said J. Orlíková.

Entrance fee is symbolic

Gallery Smečky is open from Tuesday to Saturday, between 11 a.m. and 18.30 p.m. Many people participated in producing the exhibition including: the family of J. Trnka, the National Gallery in Prague, the Moravian Gallery in Brno, the East Bohemian Gallery in Pardubice, the Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava, the West Bohemian Gallery in Pilsen and the East Bohemian Gallery of Fine Arts in Litoměřice. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue that was published especially for this occasion and covers 50 artworks out of more than 100 exhibits.  Regarding the entry fee, owners of the Prague Gasworks card, children, students, pensioners and disabled citizens can visit it free of charge. Others will be charged a symbolic fee of CZK 10.

Source : Praha.eu