TARAS 1932 – 1983

Retrospective of fine-art and representational photographic output of Taras Kuščynskyj, offering a cross-section of his highly individual work, and presenting a large number of otherwise inaccessible original prints. Kuščynskyj was a prominent  figure of Czech stylized photography in the 1960s and 70s, whose specific artistic idiom has by now become an inseparable part of national visual heritage. In their time the photographer´s female portraits, embodying the central theme of his creative endeavour, took by storm then puritanical Communist-governed Czechoslovakia, and earned the artist international fame. A sensitive and humble treatment of nudity, avowed fascination by feminine beauty, and romanticism bordering on melancholy – those are the key attributes of Kuščynskyj´s photographs. The present show point to the prism through which Taras´ work can be viewed today, three decades from his untimely death.

Photographs for the exhibition were conserved and restored by the Photography Restoration Team, Department of Photography, Academy of Cinematic Arts in Prague (FAMU), currently the Czech Republic´s only academic facility specializing in the field of conservation and restoration of photographic materials.

Old Town Hall, Prague, Arcade Gallery
18/10 – 11/11, 2013
Open daily from 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Opening 17/10 at 6:00 p.m.
Press conference: guided tour with curator Pavel Vančát and members of artist´s family 17/10 at 4 p.m.

Guided tours with curator Pavel Vančát, members of artist´s family and quests: 22.10., 31.10. and 11.11. 2013 from 4.30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

For the high resolution photographs please ask on info@taktum.cz.

Exhibition curator: Pavel Vančát
Production: Vladana Rýdlová, Taktum
Co-production: Petr Mändl, Porte, o.s.
Design: Jan Šerých
Special advisor: Radka Ciglerová
Co-ordinators: Klára Voskovcová, Eva Holečková