They All Met in Karlsbad: New London Exhibition Features Unusual Collaborations across Disciplines.
They All Met in Karlsbad is a group exhibition presenting work by eight Czech artists created during their recent residencies in the town of Karlsbad. Contrasting artists worked side by side using different materials and techniques, resulting in unique collaborations across disciplines such as glassmaking, textile work, painting and sculpture, linked through the theme of water and its transformative power as a shared source of inspiration. The exhibition opens at Notting Hill’s Window Gallery from 11 July until 31 August 2025.
RESIDENCY AS AN ARTISTIC DIALOGUE
The exhibition is the outcome of the featured artists‘ 2024 residency in the Czech town of Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad), organised by Prague’s Magnus Art Gallery. Aspiring to create space for new artistic dialogues, residencies were offered to two artists at the time, with artists deliberately paired across disciplines. This meant that for one month, a sculptor had a chance to work alongside a painter, a glassmaker created in parallel with a textile artist, and so on. As a result, brand new challenges were embraced, giving way to original artworks combining the artists’ respective materials and techniques.
ART-MAKING THERMAL SPRINGS
Other than the artists drawing from each other, the historic town of Karlovy Vary, centred round its healing thermal springs, provided additional inspiration, with the water element becoming the exhibition’s connecting theme. A good example showcasing the use of water and its power are textile objects by artist Lucie Rosická, who immersed her pieces in Karlsbad’s mineral water, creating a crystalline layer with a mesmerising deep-water-like look.
‘The variety of works featured in the exhibition illustrates the wonderful diversity of the contemporary Czech art scene. What we found most exciting about the project, however, was the artists’ immediate readiness to engage in creative dialogues’ says curator Valérie Horváth.
This exhibition is part of From Karlovy Vary, With Art, the Czech Centre’s series celebrating the cultural legacy and creative spirit of Karlovy Vary through contemporary art, design and cinema — including the tribute screening Jiří Bartoška In Memoriam: Shadows of a Hot Summer, the group exhibition They All Met in Karlsbad and the poster showcase The Embrace as a Symbol of Closeness from the 59th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
Further Information available HERE