The National Gallery is removing sculptures from the Trade Fair Palace

Prague - The National Gallery in Prague (NG) is relocating large sculptures that have stood in front of the Trade Fair Palace, the residence of its Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art, for ten years. The gallery has been planning this for several months, having already moved three on Wednesday, with the remaining two being transported today. However, its decision has sparked a dispute with the former director of the institution and the author of one of the sculptures, Milan Knížák. While other living artists have no objections to the removal of the sculptures, Knížák claims that the NG has no right to do so, as the sculpture is his property.
NG decided to remove the sculptures because they supposedly do not fulfill their original purpose, that is, to revive the interest of visitors in the Trade Fair Palace. The view of them from the sidewalk was poor due to the hedge framing them. They were difficult to walk around individually and to properly inspect, and they also partially restricted movement around the building.
Next to Knížák's sculpture King and Queen were the sculptures of Stanislav Kolíbal and Aleš Veselý. They were complemented by objects created based on the sculptures of Karel Nepraš and Karel Malich. The sculptures will be loaned to Ostrava next year after restoration, where they are to be temporarily exhibited at the Lower Vítkovice area. Knížák's sculpture will be placed in the garden of the St. Agnes Monastery for now.
The objects in front of the Trade Fair Palace were authorial enlargements, except for the work by Aleš Veselý, which was the original, that is, a piece of original size, NG spokesperson Eva Kolerusová told ČTK. NG claims that all the objects are its property. According to previous information from NG, the enlarged sculptures were made by the company Metrostav in return for organizing an exhibition at the Trade Fair Palace in 2001.
The spokesperson told ČTK today that in making the decision to move the sculptures from the area in front of the Trade Fair Palace, the gallery relied on documentation it has had since Milan Knížák was its general director. "When Professor Knížák now expressed his disagreement with the relocation of his works, he based his opinion on a claim for which the NG has no written documentation, and which would have to contradict the preserved documentation," she stated. Therefore, NG requested Knížák to substantiate his claim with the necessary documents.