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Legend of the (Regional) Artist

This full-colour, 144-page catalogue accompanying the exhibition Legend of the (Regional) Artist also reflects on selected events from the institution’s recent history (2016–2025). Within its pages, readers can delve deeper into the theme of Nitra Gallery’s latest anniversary exhibition, which drew inspiration from the seminal essay Legenda o umělci (Legend, Myth, and Magic in the Image of the Artist) by Ernst Kris (1900–1957) and Otto Kurz (1908–1975). Originally published nearly a century ago in 1934, the essay focuses on the clichés and strategies that construct the so-called “legend of the artist.”

The exhibition at Nitra Gallery is a loose paraphrase of these ideas, tracing the paths of authors and artists represented primarily in the gallery’s own collection, which has been built through various acquisition strategies over the past 60 years. A central theme of the exhibition is the elusive phenomenon of the “regional artist,” which it seeks not only to present but to truly understand. What defines this phenomenon? Does it reflect the limitations or specifics of a region—the place of birth or active practice—or is it another kind of strategy that strengthens the cult of the artist? Is it the place/the environment in which an artist crafts their story, or a kind of imaginative mystery that remains unchanged by time?

While raising these questions, the exhibition serves as a unique showcase of artists represented in the gallery’s collections. At the same time, it opens a dialogue about the future of the collection and its potential acquisition strategies, highlighting artists whose work is not yet part of the archive, but whose diverse ties to the region are clearly traceable. Through this curatorial narrative, we present nearly 70 artists (with women accounting for just under a third of the selection) who share various connections to Nitra and its surrounding area.