David Černý Opens “Musoleum”. He Will Fill a Former Distillery with His Art

The former Smíchov distillery in Prague will be the site to a new permanent exhibition of David Černý’s work.

The new 5 storey, 1,200 square metre museum will be opening on April 1, and will provide space for additional exhibitions alongside Černý’s work.

Opposite to the MeetFactory, the distillery has remained vacant for over 20 years.

Although construction has been approved for the cultural moment, the new building will be required to preserve the factory chimney as well as parts of the brewery.

With architectural design by Černý studio Black n’ Arch, Development company Trimega has invested 4 billion crowns into renovations, and the first apartments will be completed by the end of the year.

“The building is a listed monument, so it was not possible to knock it down and build a normal house here. So we decided to preserve it, and finally the decision was made to make it a cultural institution. Somehow, over time, it became the David Černý museum. Then I found out that it is not a museum, but more like a mausoleum,” Černý told ČTK.

“Partly it came about due to the fact that a few years ago I was approached by the National Gallery to do an exhibition for them. But the agreement with that institution was so terribly inflexible, it was postponed twice, that I finally decided that I no longer wanted anything to do with a state institution. That was the driving force,” he explained.

“In my advanced age, I decided that I could make an exhibition of all my things that were variously scattered around the world or stored away. The gallery will also include one space that will always be reserved for one of my guests, for kindred spirits,” Černý continued.

Photographer Dan Materna will be the first artist exhibiting their work in the new space, and
will display art next to a collection of Černý’s work – spanning across his entire catalogue.