The exhibition Wunderkammer marks the first exhibition in the Czech Republic by Italian artist Chiara Lecca (*1977) in the Czech Republic and is also her most extensive solo exhibition to date, offering a comprehensive overview of her work.

The artist, originally from Modigliana, Italy, explores the relationship between humans and nature in her work. She seeks to transpose natural forms and materials into a new artistic context. She transforms both organic and inorganic materials into objects that straddle the boundary between the natural and the artificial. Their ambiguous form surprises the viewer, challenges their initial perception, and prompts reflection. 

For example, the viewer encounters a bouquet of flowers that, at first glance, appears ordinary and decorative. Only upon closer inspection do they discover that the apparent flowers are made from dyed and cut-up parts of a rabbit’s body. Other objects resemble marble, but are in fact made of glass and dyed animal bladders.

The exhibition brings together more than 30 works by Chiara Lecca with ten works by Old Masters from the 16th to 18th centuries, drawn from Patrik Šimon’s significant private collection. Their juxtaposition opens up new possibilities for interpreting both historical and contemporary art. In a contemporary—and at times grotesque—way, the exhibition revives the tradition of Rudolfine cabinets of curiosities, where art, nature, and a fascination with the unusual intertwined.

An integral part of the exhibition is also the gallery’s distinctive spaces, located in a building constructed in 1904 according to a design by architect Václav Havel (1861–1921). Its unusual architecture enhances the atmosphere of the exhibition and becomes a sort of cabinet of curiosities in its own right.

A four-language catalog is being published to accompany the exhibition, featuring an essay by Italian gallery owner and art curator Annamarie Maggi. Another contributor is art historian and collector Patrik Šimon, who, in his text, explores the dialogue between the works of the Old Masters and those of the contemporary artist in the context of the tradition of cabinets of curiosities.

Chiara Lecca has held numerous solo and group exhibitions in galleries and art institutions in Italy and other European countries. Her work has been featured, for example, at the Museo MAN in Nuoro (2024), the Galleria Fumagalli in Milan (2023), the Monitor Gallery in Pereto (2021), Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium in Norway (2018), Ambras Castle in Innsbruck (2017), Museum Schloss Moyland in Germany (2016), and Gaasbeek Castle in Belgium (2016). She has also exhibited at the Milan institutions Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Gallerie d’Italia, and Villa Necchi Campiglio (2013), as well as at Kunst Meran/o Arte (2009). In 2016, as a finalist for the prestigious Italian art award Premio Cairo, she exhibited at the Palazzo Reale in Milan. In 2019, her work was also featured at the MACRO museum in Rome. Her works are included in both public and private collections, including the Palazzo della Contea and the Naturkundemuseum im Ottoneum in Kassel, MUS.T – Museo Settore Territorio in Faenza, the Fondazione Ghisla Art Collection in Locarno, and Kunst Meran/o Arte in Merano.

Curator: Cyprián Činátl

The exhibition is organized in collaboration with the Fumagalli Gallery in Milan.