The uniting theme for the exhibition is different views of nature; from Land Art, involving an escape from gallery space to the freedom of the wilderness, to the present, where new realities such as virtual reality, genetic techniques, and ecological awareness have radically changed our perceptions of nature. The 'Back to Nature' slogan, a leitmotif of every urban civilization, has been sublimated in the knowledge that 'nature' does not really exist other than as construction of human culture which can be experienced, from time to time, as dream, empathy, system, power, artifice, presence.
In 1999, the Fonds Regional d'Art Contemporain (FRACs) of five regions of eastern France-Alsace, Burgundy, Champagne-Ardenne, Franche-Comté, and Lorraine-joined together to found a collective project called Collections Without Borders. The main idea of this project was to open the FRACs' wide collections of contemporary art to new spectators, curators, and nations, presenting them in new contexts. Together, these FRACs approached a number of distinguished cultural institutions from across Europe, inviting them to select works for exhibitions from each of these FRACs' collections of 300 to 700 pieces. These collaborations have given rise to a unique series of projects on different topics, demonstrating the boundless richness of these collections. Each of these exhibitions has been built around an entirely new, original, unconventional, and characteristic theme.
Exhibitions have already been held in Torino, Warsaw, Edinburgh, and Trnava; now, with the support of the French Cultural Institute in Prague and the French Embassy in the Czech Republic, this project is to arrive in Prague, where it will be brought to life in the FUTURA Center for Contemporary Art and Events. The exhibitions in FUTURA and the French Institute will showcase work by many world famous artists, some of whom will be presenting their work in Prague for the first time. Alongside this, Třebešice Castle near Kutná Hora is to house a new site-specific installation, the work of the French resident artist David Renaud.
Exhibiting artists:
Lara Almarcegui, Pascal Bernier, Martin Boyce, Elina Brotherus, Angela Bulloch, Patrick Corillon, David Černý, Marcel Dinahet, Hubert Duprat, Anne Ferrer, Peter Fischli and David Weiss, Gloria Friedman, Joan Fontcuberta, Hamish Fulton, Bertrand Gadenne, Thomas Grünfeld, Bertrand Lavier, Richard Long, Didier Marcel, Regina Möller, Caterina Notte, David Renaud, Peter Rösel, Sigurdur Arni Sigurdsson, Tim + Františka Gilman and Tomáš Vaněk.
