The – historically fourth – exhibition “Domestic Art”, again enriched by new acquisitions, is presented to the public in the city of Beroun this year. Viewers have the chance to explore an extensive collection of artifacts which have been unjustifiably pushed aside and almost forgotten, or even destroyed, as unnecessary kitsch. Objects created by people lacking any artistic education – solely for their own joy, as gifts or in order to liven up their leisure time – originate from the latter half of the 20th century. And although each of the exhibited objects is an original on its own, the main aspect characteristic of all of them is the effort. In words of one of the founders of the civic society Domácí umění (Domestic Art), Pablo de Sax, it is “the effort to create something beautiful and at the same time useful; the effort to adorn one’s own dwelling, and the effort to create something artistic”. The above-mentioned civic society maps out both the artistic activities and the taste of common people. Its collecting efforts are aimed at embracing the remains of what has been created by our parents and grandparents until recently. The goal of the exhibitions, which present the works from the 1950s to the 1980s, is to underline and present their authentic character.
