Anticodes – The Unknown Face of Václav Havel

The unique exhibition Anticodes, held on the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, revealed a lesser-known side of Václav Havel. He began creating experimental visual poems in the 1960s, with the first collection published in 1964. Over the years, the series was expanded and reissued several times. The Artium exhibition presented 24 visual poems—also known as typograms—displayed for the first time in large-format prints over two meters high. These poems are playful, witty, and at times chilling, impacting the viewer not only through their content but also through their unconventional form and layout.

The date November 17 holds a unique place in Czech history as a symbol of the struggle for freedom. In 1939, Czech universities were closed on the direct order of Adolf Hitler. Nine student leaders were executed, and over 1,200 others were sent to concentration camps. Exactly 50 years later, violence by another totalitarian regime against students sparked the Velvet Revolution. It was on this date that the exhibition opened. The opening was accompanied by a discussion on the legacy of Václav Havel, featuring Michael Žantovský, then Director of the Václav Havel Library; director Kateřina Popiolková, who created her own interpretation of Havel’s The Garden Party; and Ondřej Štefaňák, director of Divadlo X10 and creator of the site-specific experimental project Play Havel, which premiered on November 28. The discussion was moderated by Pavlína Louženská, founder of the #HolkyzMarketingu initiative and an expert on Generation Z.

The evening concluded with a concert by two-time Grammy winner Ondřej Pivec, performing at Artium as part of the jazz ensemble Organic Quartet. Based in New York, Pivec plays the distinctive Hammond organ.

The exhibition sought to honour courage and determination in the face of totalitarian oppression. It reminded visitors that even those who seem powerless can hold great strength—like Václav Havel, a key critic of the Communist regime and a lasting symbol of 1989 and the effort to build a democratic state. The goal of the exhibition was also to highlight a lesser-known aspect of Havel’s personality and work.

Anticodes – The Unknown Face of Václav Havel concluded on December 18, commemorating the anniversary of the death of the last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic. The exhibition was prepared by the Karel Komárek Family Foundation in cooperation with the Václav Havel Library, a long-term beneficiary of the foundation’s support.

Curator of the exhibition: Anna Freimanová