This exhibition is dedicated to one of the most remarkable Czech poets and visual artists associated with Modernism, Jiří Kolář (1914-2002). During the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia, Kolář encountered considerable challenges, including a prison sentence for the critical stance towards the system expressed in his poetry. Whether because “images” were less easily censurable than “words” or for other, personal reasons, from about 1959, he focused exclusively on visual arts - especially various experimental forms of collage. Yet most of his mixed-media works remained profoundly concerned with the word/image relationship, and can best be described as “visual” poetry.

The selection is representative of the main aspects of his oeuvre as it evolved over several decades. It includes a wide variety of collages in diverse techniques: both early works and those of his mature period; on very small scale and large ones; two-dimensional and sculptural.

The exhibition is curated by Aneta Georgievska-Shine.

Event Details:

Date/Time:
Opening Exhibition: January 26, 6-9 pm
On view from January 26-March 17, 2019

Venue: American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center
4400 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, DC 20016

Free and open to the public

Website about the exhibition:
https://www.american.edu/cas/museum/2019/Forms-of-Visual-Poetry.cfm

Photo Credit: Jiří Kolář, Self-Portrait, 1971. Collection of Museum Kampa, The Jan and Meda Mladek Collection, Prague.