Václav Špála — Flowers: Exhibition of Unique Floral Still Lifes at Museum Kampa, Prague

This exhibition at Museum Kampa uniquely focuses on the floral still lifes of Václav Špála, a segment of his work often overlooked. It re-evaluates these pieces through a contemporary lens, highlighting craftsmanship and variations on themes. The exhibition will feature over eighty paintings from the 1920s to the 1940s.

Although floral still lifes constitute the most extensive part of Václav Špála’s oeuvre, they have never before been presented in a dedicated exhibition. Previous exhibitions and the specialist literature have mostly dismissed them as a less interesting segment of his work, without attempting to highlight their specific qualities. However, the perspective offered by contemporary art enables us to re-evaluate aspects of Špála’s floral still lifes that modernism regarded as problematic. Variations on a theme, craftsmanship and temporality gain fresh and appealing significance in the context of contemporary art. Museum Kampa is preparing an exhibition focusing exclusively on Špála’s floral still lifes in early 2026. This exhibition will run from mid-February (opening on Friday, 13 February 2026) until mid-May 2026 on the upper floor of the Sova’s Mills building in Prague. Over eighty paintings from public and private collections will be on display, presenting a selection of Špála’s works from the 1920s to the 1940s. Špála himself graded his paintings and, out of the nearly eight hundred floral still lifes he painted, he only gave thirty-two his highest rating of “rare” or “primissima”. Ten of these will be on display at the exhibition.

General museum opening hours are Monday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00. Specific ticketing or admission details for this exhibition are not provided on the page, beyond directing users to general museum access. Visitors are encouraged to check the official museum channels for precise information.