Art Encounters in Prague and Dresden

I visited the graphic printing studio Grafikwerkstatt in Dresden last month and had a chat with two of the technicians who work in the studio.

It was an interesting chat about the collaborative nature between the artist and themselves and the type of work they create, how the artist has an idea creates the work, and they work together to produce the final piece, from original prints to hand printing artists’ books.

It was lovely to visit a working printing workshop with all the equipment available to use and the different printing techniques you could practise, using equipment including rollers, of which several are over a hundred years old.

I sometimes forget how old the practice of printmaking is, but how the process remains the same. It’s a lovely thought that you can use the same methods or equipment to make work that would have been used over a century ago.

I visited several galleries including the National Gallery Prague – Trade Fair Palace and had a wander around the exhibitions. I saw this beautiful collection of woodcut prints called the cycle Máj, 1911 by the printmaker, František Kobliha.

Several of the prints were of landscapes. The details in the prints were captivating to see up close. It’s amazing how an atmosphere can be created by carving out lines and using a single colour, black ink. I am a fan of creating clouds in my prints and loved how he created this. He created prints which felt like they had movement.

There is a collection of galleries called Dresden State Art Collections. I visited the Albertinum which is known for its sculptures. I saw an interesting display of sculptures in the Schaudepot (visible storage) room. There were rows of artworks arranged like curios in several large cabinets.

I’m used to seeing individual pieces displayed by themselves. Seeing all of the collection in this particular space was a lot to see at first, but visually I really enjoyed it.

Back at the National Gallery Prague – Trade Fair Palace I saw several works from classic artists including this piece, Water Castle (1908-9) by Klimt. I was drawn in by the use of the dominant colour green and how he managed to create the landscape and reflections in the water.

It’s a fairly large painting at 110 x 100 cm, so when standing up close and looking at the bushstrokes I did feel like I was able to sit within the painting and observe the use of colour.

I love visiting galleries and museums in the place I go to. This and walking in nature are my happy places.