A new gallery for modern and contemporary art will be established in Klárov

Prague - In three years, Prague should have a new kunsthalle, a gallery that will host rotating short-term exhibitions. The Pudil Family Foundation intends to build it by renovating a historic transformer station building in Klárov. It will primarily exhibit its collection of 20th and 21st-century art and works from supporters of Kunsthalle Prague. "Our intention is to create a lively and inspiring space for art lovers and for visitors who are just beginning to discover their journey into art," said the foundation's Executive Director, Ivana Goosen, to ČTK.

The foundation was established last year by former co-owner of Czech Coal, Petr Pudil, and his wife Pavlína. In February this year, they purchased the Zenger transformer station building and contributed their collection of artworks to the foundation's assets. In October, the Kunsthalle Prague foundation was established.

"Kunsthalle Prague aims to be the leading Czech art museum. As part of the program, we plan smaller thematic exhibitions exclusively composed of works from the permanent collection. Short-term exhibitions will make up the majority of the program," says the director. She finds inspiration in several similar institutions in Central Europe.

"The collection is being built by the Pudil couple with the aim of creating a representative collection of art that maps Czech visual art from the early moments of the 20th century to the present. The collection includes many works by world-renowned authors, which contextually complement the main axis of the Czech art collection," she describes the collection without specific examples.

On the foundation's website, three examples of works are listed. One is Emil Filla's painting Head of a Man with a Pipe, which was sold at the Kodl Gallery last year for 14 million crowns. A significant Prague gallerist is also involved in the kunsthalle project. The collection also includes Max Ernst's painting Facilité from the 1920s, considered by the owners to be one of the key works from the early days of world surrealism, and Portrait of Painter Utrillo by Jiří Kars, depicting the author's Parisian friend, the legendary painter Maurice Utrillo.

Just as it has not yet publicly disclosed information about its collection or program, the individuals who will prepare the program are also not yet known. The foundation is currently seeking curators, among other things, through advertisements. "Kunsthalle Prague, as part of its program, plans exhibitions prepared by both internal and external curators, as well as the purchase of acquired exhibitions," Goosen said. The foundation also supports other projects in the field of visual arts, collaborating with the National Gallery on the exhibition Artists and Prophets and with the Kampn Museum on the current exhibition of painter Toyen.

The foundation is financing the renovation of the building in Klárov from its own resources. The transformer station was moved to the basement, thus the original function of the building has ceased. The main architect for its conversion into a gallery is the firm Schindler Seko Architects. According to current plans, Kunsthalle Prague is expected to open in 2019.

Earlier this spring, the property management company, which is owned by the foundation, planned to convert the tram transformer station into a hotel. The Ministry of Culture is considering a proposal to declare the building from the 1930s a cultural monument. "However, the new owner's goal (The Pudil Family Foundation) is not to carry out this project. The entire building should serve the purposes of the newly emerging non-profit cultural institution Kunsthalle Prague," the foundation's director now states.

A kunsthalle in Prague is already represented by the Rudolfinum Gallery, which is part of the state-funded organization Czech Philharmonic, and the recently opened DOX center in Holešovice.