Modern and Contemporary Art
Prague Lifestyle > Museums and Galleries in Prague > Modern and Contemporary Art
The city of Prague features various modern, postmodern and contemporary installations, private gallery openings and fine museums to feed your need of the Modern. The Veletrzni Palace, part of the National Gallery of Prague, was once destined to outdo the Pompidou Center in Paris in sheer size and cultural power; this is a good example that Prague was and is ready to accept the Modern, even embrace it. Historically, Prague has had a strong background in Modernism, displayed by the avant-garde movement of The Eight (Osma), Emil Filla, Bedrich Feigl, Max Horb, Bohumil Kubista, Otakar Kubin, Emil Pittermann Longen, Willi Nowak and Antonin Prochazka, as well as the Functionalist movement Devetsil, led by the prolific Karel Teige. This movement brought close ties with Western Europe, as Karel Teige endlessly invited famous artists to lecture and perform in Prague, figures such as Man Ray, Le Corbusier, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Paul Klee, Walter Gropius, and Andre Breton. If you are interested in modern and contemporary art in Prague, have a look at our recommended galleries listed below, all of which are complete with descriptions, photographs, maps and contact information.
Articles
Dox Center for Contemporary Art
This exciting new art gallery located in Holesovice is a breath of much needed fresh air for the city of Prague. Opening at the beginning of October of 2008, this large independent modern gallery wowed viewers with the opening exhibition titled Welcome to Capitalism, which featured a collection of paintings and installations by Jose Maria Cano, Michael Bielicky in collaboration with Kamila Richter, and Dirk Reinbold, Matej Kren and...
Manes
Currently, the Mánes Gallery is undergoing renovations, its re-opening is scheduled for September 2013. The Manes building with its exhibition hall, opened in 1930, well known as a functionalist dream, as it is considered one of the top Functionalist buildings in Europe today, is not only famous for the design of the building, which paired with the old 15th century water tower brings an interesting blend of old...
Václava Špály Gallery
Located on bustling Narodni Street is the important Václava Špály Gallery, a private gallery that focuses on finding an understanding or link between contemporary art and the general public. This gallery goes back in history to 1957 when it was founded and named after the acclaimed and avant-garde 20th century Czech painter Václav Špála. The gallery held significant exhibitions during its so-called golden years from 1965 to 1970 when...
Veletrzni Palace - National Gallery
Prague has first-rate museums dedicated to Medieval and Classical art, but what about the more controversial Modern art? No need to worry; the city of Prague has various Modern art and Postmodern installations, private gallery openings and fine museums to feed your need of the Modern. Just take a look around as you stroll through this lovely city, even certain areas covered in colorful graffiti scream Modern art. The Veletrzni Palace,...
Museum of Czech Cubism - National Gallery
In the remarkable House of the Black Madonna designed by Josef Gocar, is a wonderful comprehensive collection of Czech Cubism. The museum is housed on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors of the Cubist house. The first floor showcases the exquisite Grand Cafe Orient, while the ground floor houses the interesting Kubista...
Rudolfinum Gallery
The Rudolfinum Gallery is a spacious and attractive art gallery situated in the multi-purpose Rudolfinum cultural complex, which houses a gorgeous concert hall and a grand turn of the last century café. J. Schulz, who also designed the National...
Dvorak Sec Contemporary
Opened in May of 2009 Dvorak Sec Contemporary is a top Prague-based art space that is located on bustling Dlouhá Street in the center of Prague’s Old Town. The private gallery deals exclusively with young emerging talent from the United States, Great Britain, Germany and the Czech Republic as well as artists from the last 20 years that have shaped the Contemporary art field. The young and fresh critically acclaimed artists showcased...
The Golden Ring House - City Gallery Prague
Hidden on tiny Týnská street near Old Town Square is the Golden Ring House, an exhibition space of City Gallery Prague. Originally, the medieval Golden Ring House consisted of two buildings that were later merged into one. Its early Gothic period cellars and the corridor on the first floor with barrel vaulting and fragments of wall paintings from the late 15th century have been preserved until today. The Golden Ring House hosts a...
Vernon Gallery
Vernon Gallery comprises several projects whose common goals are mainly the support of young contemporary art, as well as organizing of exhibitions of classical masters. The Vernon Gallery was founded in 2001 by its director Monika Burian Jourdan with the aim of presenting to the public quality art of both contemporary and classical genres. It does so mainly at the Vernon Projekt exhibition space and at other places, as well as in...
Artbanka Museum of Young Art
A museum dedicated to contemporary young art, Artbanka Museum of Young Art (AMoYA), is one of the youngest and largest non-for-profit museums in the Czech Republic. In 2011 Artbanka opened the door of the Baroque Colloredo-Mansfeld Palace in the center of Prague, where it presents an attractive selection of young Czech and international art in more than 4,000 square meters. At the palace, where even nowadays-insensitive construction...
Bílek’s Villa - City Gallery Prague
In the lovely Prague Castle quarter known as Hradčany close to the Royal Summer Palace sits an Art Nouveau fairy tale villa designed by František Bílek, an architect and Art Nouveau and Symbolist sculptor. The house, which dates back to 1911, was designed by Bílek himself...
Kampa Museum
An eccentric contemporary collection located on the left riverbank of the Vltava, housed in the old Sova Mill, named after Vaclav Sova, the original owner in the 15th century. It should be noted that this museum is worth a visit especially for the building that has been magnificently renovated after centuries of fires, floods, and damage. On a clear day in Prague one should head to Kampa Museum on Kampa...
Gagik Manoukian's Gallery of Modern Art
This modern art gallery can be found in the center of Prague on Husova Street and exhibits mainly works of art by the Armenian painter Gagik Manoukian and other artists. Gagik Manoukian, whose paintings can be found in private collections and galleries in Europe and the United States, comes from Armenia and the roots of Armenian art and Armenian avant-garde are significantly reflected in his work. He has also been influenced by modern...
Gambit Photo
Located in the historic area of Prague’s Old Town directly in the heart of the city and situated in a charming old building is the unique Gambit Photo Gallery. Gambit Photo is an intimate gallery space offering a fresh breath of artistic air to an otherwise touristy area of Prague. Gambit Photo focuses on the art of quality photography and offers gorgeous pieces to add to or start a photography collection with their superb selection...
Museum Montanelli
Located in the gorgeous Lesser Town district of Prague and situated on charming Nerudova Street is the privately owned and operated Museum Montanelli. Run by The DrAK Foundation, the museum’s main goal in existing is to administer and present the collections of both the DrAK Foundation and private collections. Shows are composed of monographic exhibitions of artists and group exhibitions. It is interesting to note that viewings...
Vero Art Gallery
The art gallery of the painter and designer Veronika Manukjan where you can choose from Veronika's many paintings that will add special charm to your interior can be found in the center of Prague on Husova Street. If you are not sure whether a selected painting will look good in your home or office, you can borrow it and try it directly in the relevant interior. If you cannot find the right piece that would ideally complement your...
SVIT
The SVIT gallery opened in August 2010 and is one of the youngest Prague galleries. It is located in the courtyard of a 19th century print factory in Prague's Smíchov, only a 10-minute walk from the Anděl shopping area and the Charles Bridge. The SVIT gallery presents exhibitions of Czech and international artists and opens lively discourse about latest positions and developments in contemporary art. SVIT brings emerging Czech artists...
Hunt Kastner Artworks
Located in the blossoming, up-and-coming art scene of Holesovice, Praha 7 is Hunt Kastner Artworks. This independent gallery was originally opened to support about a dozen young and aspiring Czech contemporary artists including Tomáš Vanêk and Michael Thelenová, whose talent needed to be prevalent in the art scene of central Europe. Hunt Kastner Artworks has succeeded in letting the whole world know about the local artistic talent...
The Municipal Library – City Gallery Prague
Located on Mariánské Square with such grand buildings as Old Town City Hall, The exquisite Baroque Clam Gallas Palace and a section of the massive Klementinum complex is City Gallery Prague’s exhibition hall at the Municipal Library. The building was built in 1925 to 1928 and was designed by František Roith, an architect and student of Otto Wagner at the Vienna Academy. The building was originally intended for use as a cultural...
MIRO Gallery
MIRO Gallery, located in the Castle District and situated on the gorgeous grounds of Strahov Monastery is one of the most popular galleries in the magnificent city of Prague. The MIRO Gallery was founded in Berlin in 1987 and was moved to Prague in April of 1994, specifically to the beautiful church of St. Roch, which dates back to the Renaissance era. MIRO...
The Chemistry Gallery
Located in its new home in Prague 7 is the celebrated Chemistry Gallery, a unique independent space for the city of Prague where you can focus on interesting artwork from contemporary artists and, of course, purchase pieces to add to your art collection. The Chemistry Gallery also features an online comprehensive list of artists and their portfolio presentations where you can purchase and view their work. As a successful gallery of...
Dea Orh Art Gallery
Located on Kozi Street in the center of Prague’s magical Old Town is the Dea Orh Art Gallery. One of the leading private art galleries in the city of Prague, Dea Orh focuses on showcasing established artists as well as promoting emerging young artists providing them with a strong platform on which to debut their talent to the art world. The diverse program of exhibitions offered at the Dea Orh Art Gallery features not only Czech...
MeetFactory
Located a bit further afield is the MeetFactory, an international center for contemporary art that creates a new artistic platform for international talents in the city of Prague. Established in 2001 in an actual meat factory in the industrial area of Holešovice, MeetFactory, o.p.s. sought to bring to Prague a space where international contemporary artists and institutions could collaborate, a space that Prague was definitely lacking....
Jiri Svestka Gallery
Founded in 1995, the Jiri Svestka Gallery is Prague’s leading independent gallery, which focuses on Czech and international modern and contemporary art. The gallery’s main goal is to promote young talent from the Czech lands to the global audience of the prestigious art world. Since the gallery’s opening it has organized numerous exhibitions that featured the cream of the crop of the Czech art scene, all the while...
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