You can discover the Metamorphosis exhibition by sight, touch and hearing.

Vladimír Fuka, Labyrinth, 1967
Vladimír Fuka, Labyrinth, 1967
Experimental and interactive is the exhibition Metamorphosis in the Archdiocesan Museum Olomouc, which - inspired by Ovid's work The Metamorphosis - was created by the lecturers of the educational department of the Olomouc Museum of Art.

The exhibition project refers to the famous work Metamorphoses by the ancient poet Publius Ovidius Naso (43 BC-17/18 AD), more precisely to his eighth book of stories from Greek mythology. “The common denominator of this extensive poetic work is the physical or spiritual transformations that gods, humans, animals, and other living and non-living nature undergo in the myths,” says Hana Lamatová, the exhibition’s author. “These metamorphoses, however, in addition to the miraculous transformation of matter, represented primarily the consequences of divine or human actions – love, jealousy, hatred, resentment, selfishness, self-sacrifice, courage, heroism. In this way they also showed the reader a moral lesson or ethical example.”

The artworks take visitors through four interconnected stories (Labyrinth, Theseus’ battle with Minotaur, Ariadne, Daedalus and Icarus) that remain present in some form in the cultural consciousness of modern man.

Visitors will see the works of such artists as Emil Filla, Eva Kmentová, Rupert Kytka, Zbyněk Sekal, Josef Šíma, Josef Štursa, Adriena Šimotová, Annibale Carracci, but also many contemporary artists such as Jaroslav Róna, Xénia Hoffmeisterová, Ivana Lomová, Karíma Al-Mukhtarová, Monika Havlíčková, Jaroslav Macek, Otto Placht. “In the collection of works, we tried to ensure that the aesthetic interactions between the works were in dialogue with each other, but also that women were well represented,” explains the curator.

Thanks to special exhibits, visitors will be able to get to know the material of the artwork. They will be able to verify with their own sense of touch that matter is subject to constant change due to the environment and the effects of time. “The works take the form of material reductions of selected exhibits and were created under the guidance of their teachers by skilful students from the Faculty of Restoration at the University of Pardubice,” adds Hana Lamatová.

In some opposition to the changes and ageing of the material are conservators and restorers, whose work will also be presented in more detail in the exhibition, this time in the form of an interactive online exhibition created in the Indihu Exhibition tool. “It is, among other things, a reminder of the eternal struggle to preserve or save precious artefacts, which is part of the museum’s mission,” says the curator.

The exhibition has other interesting features: the exhibition texts are printed by the sun, or more precisely, using UV-sensitive ink, and are complemented by hand embroidery from the Needle Painted workshop. Another interesting contribution are the short dramatised audio stories recorded in the studio of the Czech Radio Olomouc by the actors of the Moravian Theatre under the direction of director Tomáš Soldán. “We wanted to remind the visitors of selected Greek myths if they no longer remember them. Listening to myths and fairy tales has always been an important way to pass on their message,” adds Hana Lamatová.


  • Exhibition: Metamorphoses
  • Term: 30. 1. – 6. 4. 2025
  • Olomouc Archdiocesan Museum, Gallery
  • Vernisage: January 30, 2025 at 6.30 PM
  • Concept: Hana Lamatová 
  • Curators: Hana Lamatová, Marek Šobáň 
  • Installation: Martin Fišr, Vlastimil Sedláček, Filip Šindelář, Ondřej Žák 
  • Educational exhibits: Faculty of Restoration, University of Pardubice  
  • Embroidery: Jehlou malované 
  • Translation: Zuzana Henešová  
  • Accompanying programme: Renáta Chalupová, Hana Lamatová, Martina Křížová, Marek Šobáň 
  • Loans by: Olomouc Archbishopric, GASK Gallery of the Central Bohemia Region, Klatovy / Klenová Gallery, Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava, Moravian Gallery in Brno, National Gallery Prague, Vysočina Region Gallery in Jihlava, Secondary School of Glass Applied Arts Železný Brod, Gallery of West Bohemia in Pilsen, private collectors and artists 

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

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