"Lehocká says the unexpected removal of the "extremely fragile" work is "a gross violation". She says the 15-metre-long installation was intended to be permanent and the contract stated it could only be moved with the artist's permission. She states that the SNG merely notified her of its plans without seeking her approval, and that, at her request, the police were in attendance to officially record the removal."
"It is indeed just the latest in a long line of controversies at Slovakia's flagship art museum, which has found itself at the centre of a wider conflict between the art community and the country's populist government. Government intervention in the arts prompted numerous organisations and individuals to issue a joint call to the EU in May "to adopt a European Artistic Freedom Act as a concrete legislative tool to protect creative expression and democratic values"."
Denisa Lehocká's 15-metre-long installation was removed from the Slovak National Gallery on 25 August after museum staff said they needed the wall space for another exhibition. Lehocká describes the work as extremely fragile and says the removal violated a contract that required the artist's permission for relocation. The gallery notified her but did not seek approval, and police attended at her request to officially record the removal. Representatives characterize the incident as symptomatic of a wider cultural crisis amid repeated controversies at the SNG and escalating tensions between the art community and the populist government, prompting calls for EU protections for artistic freedom.
Read at The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]