Nature in Ten Chapters
Czech Contemporary Artists
The Rethymnon Centre of Contemporary Art - "L. Kanakakis" Municipal Gallery (now the Contemporary Art Museum of Crete) hosted the exhibition "Nature in Ten Chapters: Czech Contemporary Artists." Organized within the framework of the European programme APOLLONIA, the exhibition showcased the work of ten contemporary Czech artists.
As Dimitris Konstantinidis, curator of the programme, noted in the introductory text of the exhibition catalogue, the APOLLONIA programme, established by the Council of Europe, primarily seeks to discover, acknowledge, and document the diverse components of representation in contemporary art, from countries that had long been isolated and introspective.
As a member of the network of European Contemporary Art Centres, the Centre participated in the APOLLONIA programme and hosted the exhibition "Nature in Ten Chapters: Contemporary Czech Artists" at the premises of the Hellenic Organization of Small-Medium Enterprises and Handicrafts in Rethymnon’s old town. Introduced by the Czech Museum of Fine Arts and curated by Ivan Neumann and Alena Potůčková, the exhibition had already been successfully presented at CRAC Alsace in Altkirch and the Badischer Kunstverein in Karlsruhe.
Maria Marangou, Director of the Rethymnon Arts Centre, was a member of the expert committee responsible for the realisation of the exhibition, alongside curators Jean-Claude Altoé, Director of CRAC Alsace and Andreas Vowinckel, former Director of the Badischer Kunstverein.
The exhibition, whose opening took place on Saturday 5 June 1999, was attended by the artists Zdeněk Sỳkora, Ivan Ouhel, Jiři Sozanskỳ, Miloš Šejn, Michael Rettstein, Ivan Kafka, František Skála, Jiři Černickỳ, Pavel Kopřiva, Lukáš Rittstein.
The exhibition was organized under the APOLLONIA programme with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Culture of Greece.
As noted by the exhibition’s curators in the catalogue, the decisive historical period for today’s art scene appears to span from the 1960s to the 1980s. The history of visual arts in the Czech Republic has been shaped by complex transformations closely tied to the socio-historical upheavals that unfolded in Central Europe during that time.
The curators note that it was only after 1989, when democratic principles aligned with those of Western European countries were established, that the visual arts in the Czech Republic could fully integrate into the European artistic landscape.
The exhibition centered around the theme of nature, a concept that the curators deemed significant in both the Czech and international contexts. Their aim was to present, even on a limited scale, the full spectrum of Czech art, highlighting its breadth and diversity. The selection included artists spanning all generations, from early modernists to contemporary creators.
To accompany the exhibition, a four-color printed catalogue was published in Greek, French, and German, featuring rich photographic material and texts by Dimitris Konstantinidis, Ivan Neumann, Alena Potůčková, Jean-Claude Altoé, Andreas Vowinckel, and Maria Marangou.
The exhibition, which remained open to the public until August 29, 1999, included guided tours for both children and adults, as well as educational programs and lectures.
