Permanent Interaction

On view 9.15.19 – 7.19.20

Widely considered one of the top scene designers in the world, Jaroslav Malina (1937-2016) was a Czech scenographer and painter. According to the artist “[t]here is a permanent interaction between my painting and my design.” This exhibition explores the relationships between Malina’s theatre work and his introspective paintings, drawings, designs, lithographs.

Featuring 32 paintings, designs, and lithographs, Permanent Interaction clearly illustrates the interpenetration of Malina’s creative imagination and his place place in both theatre design and fine art, both at home and abroad. The exhibition also features Malina’s relationship to other artists, especially Central Europeans, modernism in general, and the South Bohemian countryside. From his childhood during WW II, through Czechoslovakia’s shift from democracy to communism in February 1948, continuing through the years of Stalinism, post-Stalinism, the Prague Spring, the period of Normalization, through to the Velvet Revolution and the years of democracy and capitalism, Malina lived, experienced, and created. Permanent Interaction places Malina’s work in the context of his influences, his time and place, and his changing worldview.

The installation, guest curated by Joe Brandesky, coincides with the publication of a new book about Jaroslav Malina’s work: Jaroslav Malina in Scenography and Painting, Karolinum Press/University of Chicago Publications; edited by Joe Brandesky and available in the CMA Museum Store.