How does the ‘involuntary image’ come into being? Much like an involuntary thought—arising, to a certain extent, by chance, triggering the memory apparatus and propelling consciousness at the speed of light into the past. This sensation can be sparked by any sensory impulse: a photograph, a smell, a taste, a word, a color, an ornament, a tune, a sound, or even a handshake. The body, and with it the mind, is instantly transported to a specific moment seemingly lost to time. The mémoire involontaire, as Marcel Proust called it, bears a striking resemblance to the art of collage. This technique, born amidst the avant-garde movements of the early twentieth century, dismantled the unity of space and time in favor of boundless imagination. On one hand, it embraced automatism, dream logic, and the subconscious (as in Surrealism); on the other, it reduced expression to construction, materiality, or ideological intention (as seen in Bauhaus, New Objectivity, Soviet Constructivism, Socialist Realism). Collage embodies the tension between reality and pleasure. From this ‘love affair,’ a new image emerges—deconstructing the unity of the world to either liberate or constrain humanity, reshaping desires and dreams into new forms.
The exhibition Involuntary Image celebrates the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Smečky Gallery Endowment Fund, the unique Pražská plynárenská collection, and the Smečky Gallery itself. At the core of the extensive collection, centered on collage and works on paper, are masterpieces by prominent Czech avant-garde artists and those associated with post-war collage. The collection also includes artists from the latter half of the twentieth century and the turn of the millennium. These are ‘involuntarily’ joined by contemporary artists who incorporate elements of digital manipulation and moving images into the static collage tradition. Memory is being re-layered at an ever-accelerating pace. Touching lost time becomes increasingly complex, requiring entry into the creative process—an unpredictable motion that evokes convulsive beauty—beauty filled with randomness, adventure, twists, surprises, anxiety, and awe. Welcome to the world of collage, a shifting, ephemeral mirror of the involuntary image.
Curated by Petr Vaňous
Libor Fára, Adolf Hoffmeister, Vladimír Janoušek, Věra Janoušková, Jan Koblasa, Jiří Kolář, Běla Kolářová, Jan Kotík, Radoslav Kratina, Milan Langer, Ladislav Novák, Eduard Ovčáček, Jindřich Štreit & Dalibor Chatrný, Jindřich Štyrský, Toyen, Karel Trinkewitz, Ivo Vodseďálek, Ivan Wernisch, Václav Zykmund
Radka Bodzewicz, Josef Bolf, René Hábl, Jakub Janovský, Sabina Knetlová, Silvia Krivošíková, Michal Mráz, Jiří Petrbok, Daniel Pitín, Adéla Součková, Adam Štech
