GASK is opening the 12/15 Better Later Than Never exhibition – the story of a generation between oppression and freedom

Kutná Hora, 24 September 2025 – The Gallery of the Central Bohemian Region (GASK) is presenting a wide-ranging exhibition that looks back at the 12/15 Better Later Than Never group. In the second half of the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s, this group of artists was one the main focal points of developments in Czech art, and their activities fundamentally shaped the transformation of the country’s art scene. The exhibition opens on 25 October with the group’s traditional, now-legendary, flag-raising ceremony and runs until 8 March 2026.

12/15 COMETH THE HOUR… recalls the legendary twelve-member group, which consisted of Jiří Beránek, Václav Bláha, Jaroslav E. Dvořák, Kurt Gebauer, Ivan Kafka, Jiří Načeradský, Vladimír Novák, Ivan Ouhel, Petr Pavlík, Michael Rittstein, Jiří Sopko and Tomáš Švéda. It is primarily a homage to the artistic generation of the 1970s in the sense of curator Ivan Neumann’s statement that ‘An artistic generation is not so much defined by age as by artistic outlook.’ Over the course of the past nearly thirty years, the facts behind why and how 12/15 Better Later Than Never came to be, and what its essence, goals and very meaning were, gradually faded as culture and society continued to evolve. The members’ group identity lost in significance as their careers developed and they established their own artistic identities. Over time, the determining features of the ‘12/15 phenomenon’ grew less clear, and for later generations of artists and audiences the iconic 12/15 ‘quarter-clockface’ logo thus remained nothing more than the visually striking symbol of a half-forgotten story.

The exhibition at GASK has tried to avoid both romanticising nostalgia and revisionist negation. Instead, it asks questions of enduring validity. How is a lack of freedom reflected in the work of artists in search of inner freedom? How did the different social conditions before and after 1989 influence the visual language of the group’s members? How have interpretations of their work changed in relation to the dynamic changes that have taken place in society? Does 12/15’s message have anything to offer today’s audiences in an era increasingly dominated by post-conceptual trends on the one hand and market forces on the other? There are no clear answers to these questions, but the exhibition nevertheless seeks to act as a venue for reflection, debate and fresh understanding. In this way, GASK is creating the kind of platform that was one of the starting points for 12/15’s activities – to be a place for encounters and dialogue, for reflecting on the essence of creative freedom in a society in which freedom is not a given.

The exhibitionis conceived as a representative survey of works by the group’s members from the period from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. The main exhibition space, Gallery 1, presents nearly seventy works by all of the group’s members in halls covering more than 700 m². The exhibition architecture by the Schwesterndesign studio allows visitors to intimately observe the various artists’ works while also creating a visual dialogue between them – a principle that was a fundamental characteristic of 12/15 from the very beginning. An important part of the exhibition is a series of photographs taken by Magdalena Bláhová between 1987 and 1996 documenting polemical debates among the group’s future members, their self-help preparation of exhibitions and the atmosphere of the everyday reality of that time. These photographs thus form a kind of ‘family chronicle’ depicting people and relationships in serious, dynamic and humorous situations. One of the group’s members, Jiří Beránek, described this atmosphere as follows: ‘When you look into the face of anyone from the 12/15 group, you’re overwhelmed by a feeling of security, similar to the warm embrace of one’s mother. It’s as if you’ve found a blossoming island in a sea of filth. Whenever you feel gloomy (dirty houses and crooked streets), just run to the door of one of those great wizards and everything starts brightening up again. When you return home healed, it’s usually morning.’

12/15 COMETH THE HOUR…, which has been organised by curators Richard Drury, Petr Mach and Josef Vomáčka, runs from 26 October 2025 to 8 March 2026. The exhibition opening at 4pm on Saturday 25 October in the GASK refectory will be preceded by the group’s legendary flag-raising ceremony. That same day at 1pm, the gallery will hold a press conference for members of the media in the form of a guided tour with the members of 12/15.

The exhibition catalogue will be officially launched at the opening on 25 October. The gallery has also prepared a programme of accompanying events consisting of guided tours, film screenings, public talks and art workshops. The GASK Learning Centre is also planning NON(GROUP) children’s courses in conjunction with the exhibition. A complete programme of accompanying events follows.

Accompanying programme (in Czech)

14 Nov. 2025 at 4pm        Guided tour of the exhibition with curators Richard Drury, Petr Mach and Josef Vomáčka

14 Nov. 2025 at 6pm        In the Flames of Royal Love

Film screening and forum with its visual designer Michael Rittstein; hosted by curator Josef Vomáčka

14 Jan. 2026 at 10:30am GASK mini

12/15: Better Playful Than Never

Art workshop for (grand)parents and kids (ages 2–5)

7 Mar. 2026 at 2pm         Guided tour of the exhibition with Ivan Kafka and Richard Drury

7 Mar. 2026 at 4pm         Panel discussion with Petr Pavlík

The programme includes a screening of documentaries on Ivan Kafka and Petr Pavlík.

12/15 COMETH THE HOUR…

12/15 Better Late Than Never group

26. 10. 2025 – 8. 3. 2026

Exhibition opening: 25 October 2025 at 4pm in the GASK refectory

Curators: Richard Drury (GASK), Petr Mach, Josef Vomáčka

Exhibition venue: Gallery 1, GASK