Art Across Generations. Karel Tutsch, Collector and Gallerist (1941–2008) Karel Tutsch Collection

Art Across Generations. Karel Tutsch, Collector and Gallerist (1941–2008) is dedicated to a well-known art connoisseur from Brno and the collection of more than 1,300 works of art he built up over several decades. In 1986, Karel Tutsch opened the Na bidýlku gallery, quickly establishing it as a vital hub for the Czech and Slovak unofficial art scene. In the 1990s, it played a pivotal role by offering a contrast to the more cumbersome institutional galleries of the time. The collection features works by artists who have been instrumental in shaping Czech contemporary art, such as Jiří Načeradský, Jiří Sopko, Naděžda Plíšková, Alena Kučerová, Jiří Kovanda, Jiří David, Jiří Petrbok, and Ján Mančuška. However, Karel Tutsch reached beyond the domestic scene, drawing on his extensive connections abroad and making systematic efforts to engage with what was happening internationally, as evidenced by the inclusion of significant artists such as Peter Friedl, André Butzer, Markus Selg, Kalin Lindena, and Christian Macketanz.

The book comprehensively maps the beginnings of Tutsch’s collecting, the evolution and make-up of his collection, the ways in which he acquired works, and, to some extent, the activities of the Na bidýlku gallery. The contributions by Radek Horáček, Petra Příkazská, František Zachoval, and Marianna Placáková approach these themes from diverse perspectives: local, national, international, and gender. The catalogue section presents selected works from the collection, contextualising them and grouping them by theme. This book significantly enhances our understanding of the culture of private collecting during the “normalisation” era. It serves as a companion catalogue to the exhibition How to Collect Art: the Karel Tutsch Story (Jak sbírat umění: příběh Karla Tutsche, 2024–2025), organised by the Gallery of Modern Art in Hradec Králové, which purchased theTutsch collection in 2021.

Published in the Exhibition Catalogues and Resources Series to coincide with the long-term exhibition How to Collect Art: the Karel Tutsch Story (Jak sbírat umění: příběh Karla Tutsche, 28 April 2024 – 12 October 2025) at the Gallery of Modern Art in Hradec Králové.

Published with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the State Fund of Culture of the Czech Republic, and the City of Hradec Králové.

Art Across Generations
Karel Tutsch, Collector and Gallerist (1941–2008)

Editor: Tomáš Kolich
Texts: Radek Horáček, Tomáš Kolich, Marianna Placáková, Petra Příkazská,
František Zachoval
Language: English
English translation: Stuart Hoskins
Graphic design and typesetting: Bedřich Vémola
Cover design: Daniel Šmíra
Photographic prepress: Zdeněk Franc
Printed by: H.R.G. spol. s r. o.
288 pages
Published by Galerie moderního umění v Hradci Králové in 2024.
First edition
ISBN 978-80-88659-09-9

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