Tag: Sunday 23 June at 4 pm

Franz Kafka - Ruth Kohn: stories of courage

Franz Kafka - Ruth Kohn: stories of courage Arnold Villa Drobného 299/26 Sunday 23 June at 4 pm The intricate life story of the Czech-German artist and her "Kafkaesque" paintings will be presented at a discussion and exhibition opening at the Arnold Villa. A discussion between historian Táňa Klementová and internationally acclaimed artist Rut Kohn (b. 1937) will recall her life and work. Rut Kohn's parents, who lived in Třebušice, which became part of the occupied Sudetenland, refused to declare their German nationality in 1938. During the communist totalitarian regime, Rut was not admitted to grammar school because of her "unsuitable class background". She married Pavel Kohn, a writer and dramaturge of the Karlovy Vary theatre, who was the only survivor of the Holocaust. For political reasons he had to leave the theatre and for years he searched in vain for a permanent job. When the Kohns managed to visit West Germany in 1967, they decided to emigrate. In Germany, Ruth Kohn began to devote herself to the visual arts. She had her first major exhibition in 1983 in Munich. This was followed by exhibitions at the Kunstsalon in Munich, in Stuttgart, as well as at the most important art fair in Basel, Switzerland, in France and, after the fall of communism, also in the Czech Republic. In 2006, she was awarded the prize of the Most Important Czech Woman in the World. The curator of the exhibition is Marie Kopecká Verhoeven. The programme is organised by the Meeting Brno festival in cooperation with the Brno City Museum and the Arnold Villa.