Eva Kmentová

The retrospective exhibition of Eva Kmentová (1928-1980) will present the fundamental artworks of this sculptor. Rather than the linear arc of the work, it will provide space to the artist's key works. Through them, it will explore the working conditions of a woman as an artist-sculptor. It will show the meanings of prints and casts for Kmentová’s artistic statement. It will reflect on the sense of ephemerality in some of her later works and attempt to understand the position of Eva Kmentová's work in the international context of sculpture. Compared to the retrospective held in Prague in 2006/2007, the current exhibition has a more selective character. It is not an inventory of a hitherto unknown or indistinct whole, but rather selects from it several formally, thematically and temporally defined sets. While the previous exhibition in 2006/2007 interpreted the works mainly in the spirit of Eva Kmentová's intention, the current one prefers an external view: How does the viewer perceive her work today? What is obvious at first glance, and what is hidden on other levels? How did Eva Kmentová manage not only to survive professionally, but also to achieve creative self-expression in the environment of socialist culture?

The exhibition is held under the auspices of the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Mr. Petr Fiala, the Minister of Culture, Mr. Martin Baxa, and the Mayor of the City of Brno, Mrs. Markéta Vaňková.
For the financial support of the project we thank the Ministry of Culture, the National Restoration Plan and the Kmentová Zoubek Fund.

photo: Polina Davydenko