Contemporary Art and Sculpture Park at Bechyně Castle 2026
Relational Fields – Vztahová pole
The 2026 exhibition project at Bechyně Castle is dedicated to the theme Relational Fields, exploring how art connects individuals, generations, histories, and environments. In a time marked by social fragmentation, digital isolation, ecological urgency, and heightened political awareness, the exhibition reflects on the role of art as a space for dialogue and shared understanding.
The exhibition brings together contemporary artists from several generations and diverse artistic backgrounds. Their works interact with the historic setting of Bechyně Castle, its sculpture park with aviaries, and the late Gothic granary, responding to the site’s unique genius loci. Through installations, spatial interventions, and conceptual works, the artists engage with architecture, landscape, and history.
A key component of the project is the Stava Family Collection, presented in connection with the newly published catalogue The Stava Family Collection – Part I. This catalogue documents the entire collection of 20th-century abstract and non-objective art, along with selected ceramics. Previous exhibitions at Bechyně Castle have already presented major parts of the collection in the projects Avantgarde (2024) and Humanity (2025).
For the exhibition Relational Fields, participating artists have selected works from the Stava Family Collection to accompany their own contributions. Their choices reflect artistic influences, personal affinities, stylistic predecessors, and works that resonate with their practice. In this way, the exhibition creates a multi-generational dialogue between contemporary artistic approaches and key works of 20th-century art.
The exhibition is conceived as a dialogue across traditions, generations, environments, and perspectives. It links contemporary artistic practice with historical architecture, nature, and the legacy of modern art, revealing connections that extend across time and artistic lineages while remaining deeply rooted in the specific context of Bechyně Castle.
Curatorial Concept
At the heart of Relational Fields lies the idea of relationships – between people, environments, materials, perception, and artistic traditions. The exhibition highlights art’s capacity to foster reflection, dialogue, and awareness of the interconnected world we share.
The concept unfolds through three thematic streams:
Bonds in Fragmentation
Artists exploring this theme focus on social structures, collective memory, and human relationships in an increasingly divided world. Their works examine the potential of art to create empathy, dialogue, and understanding amid social, political, and historical pressures.
Systems of Perception
Works in this section investigate how systems and structures shape human perception. Through visual, spatial, and sensory environments, artists examine the mechanisms through which we interpret reality, while challenging the increasingly mediated and digital nature of contemporary experience.
Nature Is Our Future
Artists working within this theme explore the complex relationships between humanity, nature, and material environments. Their works examine organic processes, ecological systems, and the invisible forces shaping our surroundings, encouraging awareness of environmental fragility and the urgent need for sustainable coexistence.
Across these thematic strands, the exhibition emphasizes dialogue between art, space, history, society, and nature. Many artists draw on conceptual, minimalist, or relational traditions, while others work with spatial or site-specific approaches. Together, their works create immersive experiences that reveal connections across human experience, materiality, and place.
Exhibition Structure
The exhibition Relational Fields consists of three interconnected parts:
Nives Widauer and Roland Kuit
Site-specific works and installations created by these two international contemporary artists invited by curators Claudia Rajlich and Nicole Stava. Their works engage with the interiors of Bechyně Castle, the sculpture park, and the Gothic granary.
Galerie Konrad Fischer (Düsseldorf / Berlin)
A selection of works by artists represented by the gallery, presented in the sculpture park and the historic granary.
Etcetera Collection (Prague)
Works by Czech artists from the collection, shown in a dedicated section of the Gothic granary.
For Relational Fields, participating artists have chosen works from the Stava Family Collection about which they delivered personal statements in form of texts, which will be presented in the castle granary. Their selections highlight artistic influences, shared sensibilities, and historical references that connect with their practice. Through these pairings, the exhibition creates a dialogue between contemporary perspectives and significant works of 20th-century art across generations.
Through this layered curatorial approach, the exhibition creates a dialogue between artistic generations, historical periods, and environments within the distinctive setting of Bechyně Castle.
Artists
Invited Artists
Nives Widauer (1965)
Roland E. Kuit (1959)
Galerie Konrad Fischer
Alice Channer (1977)
Daniel Buren (1938)
Candida Höfer (1944)
Zon Ito (1971)
Harald Klingenhöller (1954)
Sol LeWitt (1928–2007)
Thomas Schütte (1954)
Yuji Takeoka (1946)
Paloma Varga Weisz (1966)
Etcetera Collection
Dalibor Chatrný (1927–2013)
Milena Dopitová (1963)
Margita Titlová Ylovsky (1957)
Tomáš Ruller (1957)
Texts provided by the participating artists include references to the following artists from the Stava Family Collection:
Arman (1928–2005)
Hans Arp (1886–1966)
Alexander Calder (1898–1976)
Marc Chagall (1887–1985)
Salvador Dalí (1904–1989)
Sam Francis (1923–1994)
Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944)
René Magritte (1898–1967)
Pablo Picasso (1881–1973)
Richard Serra (1938–2024)
Antoni Tàpies (1923–2012)
Jean Tinguely (1925–1991)
Hedwig Weiss (1860–1923)
