František Kupka – Biblioman

The title of the exhibition Biblioman (Bookworm) is a reference not only to František Kupka’s (1871–1957) eponymous crypto-self-portrait from the year 1897, but also to his lifelong searching and tireless and systematic study of science and the humanities, which influenced his progressive views of painting and his informed approach to illustrating historical texts. Kupka’s illustrations from the first half of the twentieth century and their place within the oeuvre of this ‘pioneer of abstraction’ form the main focus of this exhibition, which also presents an extensive set of fine press editions from the GASK collections within the context of works influenced by the classical tendencies found in his work in the first decade of the twentieth century.