This weekend, the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library will open an exhibit displaying the familial tapestry of the artist behind the work.
“Noah Breuer is an American artist originally from Berkeley, California,” explained Stefanie Kohn, a curator at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library (1400 Inspiration Place SW). “His current project examines the visual legacy of ‘Carl Breuer and Sons,’ his Jewish family’s former textile printing business, founded in 1897 in Bohemia and seized by the Nazis in 1939.”
It was through research trips to Prague that Breuer was able to unearth fabric designs, digital scans and more related to his family’s business.
Noah Breuer: Reclamation opens on Saturday — with a talk and tour marking the occasion from 10 a.m.-noon that morning — and will remain on display through Feb. 25.
Also currently on display through January in the Cedar Rapids museum is the jewels of Brilliant Bohemian Garnets. The exhibit contains close to 200 objects featuring the fiery red gemstones of the exhibit’s title as well as household picture frames, mirrors, eyeglasses and the like. The tools used for mining and cutting garnet gems are also part of the exhibit.
Once the exhibit leaves Cedar Rapids on Jan. 14, the museums notes that the jewels of Brilliant Bohemian Garnets “will be put on permanent display at a special new gallery at the Czech National Museum, never to leave the Czech Republic again.”
Another exhibit, coming in spring 2024, is a private collection of works by the Czech painter Alfons Maria Mucha, also known as Alphonse Mucha.
Born in 1860 — in what was then the Austrian Empire, now the Czech Republic — Mucha became famous during the Art Nouveau movement for designing posters and magazine illustrations depicting female forms. He was particularly known for his depictions of French stage-actress Sarah Bernhardt.
“Mucha is one of the pioneers of the Art Nouveau movement,” Kohn said. “He is probably the most famous Czech artist, recognizing early on the significance of commercial and poster art as a means to bring art to all people. Presented are 75 works, including rare original lithographs and proofs, paintings, drawings, posters, books and portfolios.”
More information about current and upcoming NCSML exhibits and events can be found through the organization’s website.
