NGP 230: Stories of the Trade Fair Palace

24–27/9 2026; selected installations on view until 3/1 2027

To mark the NGP’s 230th anniversary, a series of artistic and architectural interventions will be unveiled at the Trade Fair Palace, commemorating the history of the National Gallery in this building through temporarily installed works. The Small Hall will feature a suspended object by architect Jan Kaplický, created for his 1999 exhibition. Also on view will be a large-scale painting by Vojtěch Kovářík, donated to the National Gallery in 2024.

As part of the cllection display 1939 – 2021: The End of the Black-and-White Era, visitors will encounter a work by Martin Zetová, offering a new interpretation of the oeuvre of his father, Miloš Zet. Magdaléna Cubrová’s 1979 painting On the Edge of the Pit, which became the focus of the eponymous art project by the Rafani group, will also be exhibited for the first time. Tomáš Vaněk’s Particip No. 4, created for the landmark 1999 exhibition Distant Resemblances: Something More Than Cosmetics by Jana and Jiří Ševčík, will return to the foyer. In the second-floor former lounge, visitors can learn about preparations for the collection display for the Trade Fair Palace in the 1980s, as well as about artistic activities by artists Margita Titlová and Jiří Sozanský that took place in the fire-damaged Trade Fair Palace. The opening of the Trade Fair Palace for the public in 1995 is, besides the artistic rendering of the cargo gate by Michal Gabriel, symbolically commemorated by the artwork of Ivan Kafka. In the ATLAS space a newly acquired installation of Jan Šerých will be displayed.

The exhibition 1956–1989: Architecture for All will feature a video presentation of proposals for the renovation of the Trade Fair Palace, developed by architect John Eisler as author or co-author. These will be accompanied by Jaromíra Šimoníková’s Osaka chair, designed from bent wood for the EXPO 70 exhibition, and by neon elements referencing the logos of companies that once operated in the Trade Fair Palace.

All installations will be on display from 24 to 27 September 2026, with some remaining in place until 3 January 2027.