Listening Body: Jindřich Chalupecký Award & Kinke Kooi,
National Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic
September 25–January 11, 2026

Kinke Kooi: Every shame is political, even when it concerns beauty
by Hana Janečková

The exhibition of the 2025 Jindřich Chalupecký Award, on view at the Trade Fair Palace of the National Gallery Prague from 25 September, presented the work of the 2025 laureates—Dominik Adamec, Barbora Lungová, and Karolína Rossí, and Kinke Kooi as a foreign guest. It  offered a variety of installations, including ceramic sculptures, paintings, and spatial objects. Thematically the laureates focused on ecological awareness, criticism of the patriarchy, the relationship between man and nature, and also spirituality.

Curated by Tereza Jindrová, Veronika Čechová (SJCH), Radoslav Ištok (NGP).

The Jindřich Chalupecký Award, named after prominent theorist and critic of fine art and literature, essayist, and philosopher, was established in 1990 following an initiative by Václav Havel, Jiří Kolář, and Theodor Pištěk. It is intended for emerging artists living or working in Czechia. The award also serves to recognise the significance of Jindřich Chalupecký’s (1910–1990) life’s work, particularly his efforts from 1969 onward, when he supported unofficial, avant-garde art and sought to help Czech non-conformist art maintain its distinctiveness, originality, and unbroken continuity with the modernist tradition and European fine art culture.

All photos courtesy of the National Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic