The Unknown Jambor

An Exhibition Commemorating the 130th Anniversary of the Artist's Birth  

Josef Jambor Gallery, Tišnov, 23 September, 2017 – 14 January, 2018, exhibition author Marta Sylvestrová, graphic design Pavel Coufalík

The newly renovated Josef Josef Jambor Gallery in Tišnov opened for the public on 22 September, 2017 with an exhibition named The Unknown Jambor. Besides thematic flashbacks to the work of Josef Jambor, who lived and worked in the house on Brněnská Street 475 between 1931–1964, the new Josef Jambor Gallery exhibition programme will feature current trends in contemporary visual arts. The gallery's exhibition plan is based on variability and the effort to provide a balanced space for both exhibition concepts, with each of them having distinct gallery space for its representation, whether exclusive, parallel or in alliance.

The current exhibition, organized on the occasion of the 130th anniversary of the birth of the painter Josef Jambor, introduces the artist from an unknown perspective, or rather from a view forgotten over the past years. Many of the artworks exhibited here, however, were already displayed at the Jambor retrospective exhibition organized by art critic Jana Vránová at the Brno House of Art s in 1974. The title Jambor Unknown was first used by the organizers of an exhibition held as a part of the 75th anniversary celebrations of the foundation of the school in Nové Město na Moravě; it took place at the Horácko Museum and Gallery in 1969 and introduced Jambor’s early works from 1908–1923.

The selection from Jambor's extensive oeuvre at the current exhibition presents the artist's first and thematically diversified creative phase. In addition to early paintings, watercolours and oil paintings from the Nové Město area, works from his studies at the Brno Technical College (1908–1911) are also displayed, drawing on the motifs from Brno streets and suburbs.

A Book Baptized with Heather

The publication “Josef Jambor – The Tišnov Collection” was launched at the Tišnov Municipal Library on Saturday, 16 December, 2017. It was published on the occasion of the 130th anniversary of the birth of the artist by the Friends of Josef Jambor in cooperation with the Moravian Gallery in Brno with financial support of the Town of Tišnov. The publication brings the first ever art-historical evaluation of Jambor's works in the town’s property. The artist became a Tišnov citizen in 1931. Shortly before his death, he bequeathed a large collection of his own paintings and those of his friends to the town.

Several authors have contributed to the publication. Its editor was Ms Marta Sylvestrová, Josef Jambor’s granddaughter. At the launch of the book she said that working on it had been for her a journey to her own roots. She acknowledged all those who took part in the work on the catalogue: namely the staff of the Podhorácko Museum in Předklášteří, the Horácko Gallery in Nové Město na Moravě and the State District Archive in Žďár nad Sázavou. Jan Lacina, associate professor and one of the authors of the book, said that Jambor's paintings are an artistic document of the landscape structure of his time. He further reminded that the artist’s destiny was the Czech-Moravian Highlands, but he also painted other landscapes. Besides Tišnov, there are also pictures of South Moravia, Eastern Bohemia, the High Tatras, or the seashore in the Netherlands.

The new publication dedicated to Josef Jambor had a most unusual launch (called „baptism“ in Czech): Petr Fruhwirt, former mayor of Tišnov, „baptized“ it with a posy of heather from the borough of Sněžné. Josef Jambor liked this plant very much and he would paint it quite often.

Visitors to the official book launch were free to visit the exhibition called Unknown Jambor, installed since 22 September 2017 in the refurbished and enlarged venue of the Josef Jambor Gallery in Brněnská Street No. 475. The exhibition duration was extended till 14 January, 2018.

Věra Rudolfová, 17 December, 2017

In: Novoměstsko, 1 January, 2018, p. 13, www.nmnm.cz

Josef Jambor – The Tišnov Collection 

A book published by the Friends of Josef Jambor on the occasion of the 130th anniversary of the artist's birth 

Places of Josef Jambor Landscapes in Josef Ptáček's Photographs