About the gallery
We are opening the Art brut Prague Gallery as the first exhibition space in Prague focused exclusively on the work of artists who, for various reasons, are unable or unwilling to join the mainstream art scene.
“Here, things are raised proudly
and more stabbingly,
the world is full of edges
on which we have
hurt ourselves many times.”
The quote, taken from Josef Čapek’s groundbreaking book The Most Modest Art, will greet all visitors at the entrance as a foreshadowing of the type of work they will encounter here.
To clearly define the gallery, the name was chosen after the painter Jean Dubuffet’s famous term art brut – usually translated in Czech as “art in its raw state”.
But not all the artists the gallery will represent necessarily fall into the category of art brut as it is usually conceived. Some of them, for various reasons, become outsiders, not even classifiable in this field.
The selection of the artists is basically conditioned by the absence of any conscious calculation in their work aimed at achieving success in the world of contemporary art.
The gallery also wants to support its artists by making their works available for sale.
Exhibitions
Kashinath Chawan
Vivid Visions from the Dust of the Streets
Živé vize z prachu ulice
10. 7.–6. 9. 2025
Curator of the exhibition: Vladimír Drábek
Kashinath Chawan can be found each day on a dusty street in the Indian city of Pune, near Mumbai—a city of six million. He is one of the many street cobblers who wait patiently for customers needing their shoes cleaned or repaired. Kashinath has practiced this trade since the age of fifteen. A member of the traditional shoemaker caste, he inherited the craft from generations before him. Today, he is 77 years old.
But Kashinath Chawan stands apart from others. For decades, alongside his work as a cobbler, he has quietly devoted himself to drawing. He is now regarded as one of the most prominent figures in Indian art brut. His works have found homes in museums around the world, including the renowned Collection de l’Art Brut in Lausanne and Bruno Decharme’s abcd collection. He draws exclusively with a ballpoint pen, and, according to those who know him, occasionally adds touches of colored shoe polish. A calm and measured man, he approaches drawing in the same way he does shoemaking—with an air of casualness, yet marked by deep focus and care. He instinctively repeats each stroke until he achieves his unique, signature style.
The exhibition Vivid Visions from the Dust of the Street brings together seventeen of his works created this year. They depict sacred figures from Indian mythology and history—gods, poets, warriors, rulers—as well as iconic characters from Bollywood films. Animals also feature prominently in his art. He paints mostly on the ground, accustomed to viewing his compositions from above. When showing his work to others, he always spreads it out on the pavement, amid the street dust. Otherwise, he keeps his drawings folded inside a plastic bag. The creases in the paper aren’t just from storage—he often draws on pieces of cardboard salvaged from old boxes.
Kashinath Chawan can be described as a quiet force. His eyes light up whenever someone shows interest in his drawings—until then, he seems simply to be waiting. Though illiterate, he is rich in life experience. Is he aware of the impact his work has had around the world? He appears indifferent to it. What matters most to him is the act of creation itself, and the rare but cherished moments when someone takes notice of his art—something that, sadly, happens only occasionally in his own community.
Vladimír Drábek
About the authors
The main circle of authors is formed by the persons who create in the Studio of Joyful Creation at Letná: Dagmar Filípková, Šárka Hojaková, Dominik Jirsa, Jarmila Jandová, Marie Kohoutková, Václav Kuklík, Marie Kůsová, Lorenzo, Karel Pajma, Lukáš Paleček, Vojtěch Proske, George Radojčič, Iveta Riminka Filí, Ladislav Svoboda will be presented here.
However, internationally known names such as Anna Zemánková or Zdeněk Košek will also be represented. Other authors who have already gained attention include Hana Fousková, La Inthonkaew, Ota Prouza, Helena Skalická and Tomáš Krupka.
Practical information
The gallery will be open five afternoons a week, Tuesday to Saturday 2 – 7pm.
www.artbrutpraha.cz
artbrut.praha@gmail.com
+420 606 028 942 (during opening hours)
+420 602 646 665 (out of hours)
Postal address: Galerie Art brut Praha, Resslova 300/6,
120 00 Praha 2 – Nové Město.
About the place and the founder
The gallery acquired its space after the renovation of a long unused technical building at St. Wenceslas Church in Zderaz.
The operator is the Altán Art association, which has so far been active mainly in Letná: in 2013 it opened the Studio of Joyful Creation here as the first Czech studio providing facilities for artists falling into the category of art brut, and in 2017 it opened up also to the wider public by establishing the ART Cultural and Community Centre, where senior citizens and people with disabilities develop their artistic interests together. Vladimír Drábek is the main representative of the association. More information on the website www.altanart.cz .
Curator
Jaromír Typlt (1973) is a poet, performer and essayist. During 2000-2010 he worked in Liberec as a curator of photography and contemporary art exhibitions at the Small Exhibition Hall and then at the U Rytíře Gallery. Since the end of the 1990s he has also helped to promote the work of overlooked authors, publishing the first book on Zdeněk Košek (2001), literary texts by Hana Fousková, František Novák and many others. In 2018, he started cooperation with the association Altán Art. He has long focused on the topic of “écrits bruts” – written expressions in art brut.
Gallery partners
Studio of Joyful Creation at Letná
Czechoslovak Hussite Church in Prague 2 – New Town
Graphic studio chapter
abcd praha
Media partners
Analogon
Revolver Revue
Souvislosti
I am convinced that a considerable circle of artists, those interested in art brut and the
Pavel Konečný, art brut collector
professional public can form around the Art Brut Prague gallery in a very short time. The
project is a positive response not only to initiatives stemming from the vibrant undercurrent of
our spontaneous creativity, but also responds to calls from foreign cultural institutions to
strengthen the voice of outsider art, including by improving intercultural cooperation and
dialogue across European borders.