Kunsthalle Prague will manage the years-in-the-making collection of the Zemans

Prague - The emerging institution Kunsthalle Prague will take over the collection of the Zeman couple in September. The artistic collection, which the couple has built over the years and originally wanted to donate to the Ústí Region, includes works by Emil Filla, Jan Zrzavý, and František Kupka. The collection of more than 800 exhibits is among the most significant private collections in the Czech Republic since 1989. Kunsthalle Prague promises to study the collection and make it accessible to the public. This was stated by Nikola Lörinczová on behalf of the founders of Kunsthalle. The artistic value of the collection is immeasurable, and its financial value is estimated at 750 million CZK.

Eva Kunstová and her late husband Petr Zeman created a collection of Czech modern and contemporary art over the past 40 years. Thanks to personal relationships with artists, they managed to acquire some very rare works by Czech authors, especially from the second half of the 20th century.

In addition to modern, post-war, and contemporary Czech art, the Zeman couple also collected indigenous art from various regions of the African continent and folk art from Nepal and selected European regions.

"We are pleased that we can provide the collection with all the necessary care and at the same time want to dedicate maximum effort to its conservation and further research. The outputs of this process will be made available to the public not only through publications and lectures but also through the digitization of the collection. An exhibition dedicated to the collecting story of the Zeman couple will take place at Kunsthalle Prague,” said the director of Kunsthalle Prague Ivana Goossen.

According to her, Kunsthalle Prague is open to negotiations and cooperation with the city of Žatec, where the collection was originally intended to be placed. The Zemans originally wanted to donate their collection to the Ústí Region, which has already purchased a facility in Žatec for exhibiting the works. The exhibition of the collection in the hops town, where the couple partially lived, was a condition of their agreement. The couple offered the region 824 predominantly painting and sculptural works.

The donation agreement was approved by the representatives in September 2016. In April 2017, the donors set conditions for the Ústí Region related to the future presentation of the donation, wanting a new gallery for the collection to be established in Žatec. Earlier this year, the representatives did not approve an amendment to the agreement, which stated that if not approved by February 28, the entire donation agreement would fall through.

After that, the then director of the National Gallery in Prague, Jiří Fajt, expressed interest in the collection and was prepared to present the works under the NGP banner in Žatec. However, he was dismissed from his position in April, Petr Zeman died on the day of his dismissal, and the widow no longer wanted to negotiate with the National Gallery in Prague, Fajt stated at the time.

Kunsthalle Prague, as a place for art, culture, and leisure, is being created through the reconstruction of a former transformer station at Klárov, which is set to open in 2021.