Exhibition German Art in the Border Regions: Then and Now presents visitors with a representative sample of the artistic work of Czech and, to some extent, Lower Silesian Germans in the first half of the 20th century, with the largest number of works coming from artists active in northeastern Bohemia. Although the work of ethnic German artists is represented in the collections of numerous cultural institutions in the border regions, it received only minimal attention in our country for a long time after 1945. Since the 1990s, there has indeed been a significant shift in the understanding of the visual arts of the local German community, which recently culminated in the publication of several representative volumes; yet many German artists active in the border region remain virtually unknown to the general public. At best, awareness of these artists’ work is strictly limited to the region.

The specific border region from which these artists hailed influenced their work to a certain extent, whether the inspiration came from the captivating nature of the Krkonoše and Jizerské Mountains or the rich history of the settlements on both sides of the border.

The exhibition deliberately creates a dialogue between historical works by German visual artists from before 1945 and the contemporary artistic perspectives of the participating artists. In their work, artists from Germany and the Czech Republic reflect on both personal and forgotten stories of the border region’s inhabitants.

Cross-border collaboration in the field of contemporary art reflects current Czech-German cultural relations, connections, and realities. The exhibition is a confrontation between modern art and contemporary art—the most recent art in this historical and shared geopolitical space.

Venue: GVUN Jízdárna
Curators: Petra Zachovalová, Václav Horák, Lexa Peroutka, Dirk Großer 

The exhibition is organized in collaboration with the Krkonoše Museum in Vrchlabí, the Žacléř Municipal Museum, the Podkrkonoší Museum in Trutnov, the Trutnov City Gallery, the Broumov Region Museum, the City of Teplice nad Metují, the Karkonoskie Museum in Jelenia Góra, Torhaus Wehlen, and private collectors.