The Only Surrealism Show Behind the Iron Curtain

Surrealismus: Princip Slasti [Surrealism: The Pleasure Principle Exhibition Poster]

Hrstka, Jaroslav

Publication: Velky Senov [Czechoslovakia]: Vytisklo Severografia, 1968.

Notes: The poster for a notable exhibition of French Surrealists in Czechoslovakia held during the Prague Spring, a brief window of time in 1969 when the political grip of the Soviet Union loosened in Czechoslovakia.

Recent scholarship has placed this exhibit in the context of the global Surrealist movement. Krzysztof Fijalkowsk in "Pleasure Principle 1968", an essay published in the exhibition catalog for Surrealism Beyond Borders (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2021), described the show:

"A little-known exhibition, Princip Slasti (The Pleasure Principle), devised by the Paris [surrealist] group in conjunction with Czechoslovak colleagues and held in Brno, Prague and Bratislava between February and April 1968, gave a first and only opportunity to display international surrealism for audiences behind the Iron Curtain... Interactions between participants over the week of the French group’s visit marked a decisive point at which international surrealism could critique and project its directions: the outcome was the joint manifesto The Platform of Prague, drafted during the exhibition and published in the Paris group’s journal L’Archibras."

By the time the Platform of Prague and its protest of repressive systems was published, the Soviets had invaded and the Czech Surrealist movement had gone back underground.

The Surrealism Beyond Borders show at the Met included the catalog of the Princip Slasti exhibit but no poster from the show.

This poster advertises the exhibition in Brno and Prague only. Either a separate poster was designed for Bratislava or perhaps this poster pre-dates the addition of a third city to the show's tour. The artist, Jaroslav Hrstka (1938–2015), collaborated with Czech surrealists in the early 1960s; after the invasion by Warsaw Pact troops in the fall of 1968, he fled to Switzerland where he lived the rest of his life.

Two-color silkscreen, measuring 21-5/8 by 29-1/2 inches.

Edition + Condition: Linenbacked, with repairs and color touchup to short marginal tears.

Item No: #362578

Price: $2,500