Ondřej Chrobák

Ondřej Chrobák is a Czech historian and curator. His areas of expertise are Czech modernism and contemporary art, and 19th century art. He studied art history at the Faculty of Art in Prague from 1997 to 2002. While still a student (2001) he founded the Display Gallery with David Kulhánek, Zbyněk Baladrán and Tomáš Svoboda, one of the first independent galleries focussing on the presentation of contemporary art from abroad. He worked in the gallery as curator and organiser until 2006.

From 2000 to 2008 he was curator and subsequently director of the Collection of PriOndřej Chrobák is a Czech historian and curator. His areas of expertise are Czech modernism and contemporary art, and 19th century art. He studied art history at the Faculty of Art in Prague from 1997 to 2002. While still a student (2001) he founded the Display Gallery with David Kulhánek, Zbyněk Baladrán and Tomáš Svoboda, one of the first independent galleries focussing on the presentation of contemporary art from abroad. He worked in the gallery as curator and organiser until 2006.

From 2000 to 2008 he was curator and subsequently director of the Collection of Prints and Drawings of the National Gallery in Prague. Exhibitions he curated included Jan Autengruber: Works 1910–1920 (Palác Kinských, 2002). The exhibition Mikoláš Aleš 1852–2007 (NG, Waldstein Riding School, 2007) attempted not only to represent the work of this master, but track the changes in the way his oeuvre has been regarded over the course of time.

Chrobák is also the curator of an exhibition of illustrated humour and caricatures entitled V okovech smíchu / In Fits of Laughter at the Stone Bell House (with Tomáš Winter and Marie Rakušanová, 2006, City Gallery Prague) and curator of All The Best by Jiří Thýn (Josef Sudek Gallery, 2006) and Expozice / Exhibition by Tomáš Svoboda (Karlin Studios, 2009).

In 2009 Chrobák started working as curator for the Gallery of the Central Bohemian Region (GASK), where he helped create a concept in the newly renovated premises of the former Jesuit college. As well as curating Erotická revue / Erotic Review (GASK, 2011) and co-organising the StartPoint shows of young graduates from European art schools (GASK, 2010), along with Ondřej Horák he participated on the project Prison: No Limits for Art, at which both artists and inmates exhibited their work jointly (2012).

Since 2011 Chrobák has been working at the Moravian Gallery in Brno, first as curator and at the Methodology Centre (the Centre for New Strategies of Museum Presentation – CENS). In 2014 he became head curator. His new conception of gallery management consists above all in opening institutions to the public and prioritising the visitor. As well as abolishing entry fees and opening a bookshop and coffee bar, he made fundamental changes to the way the gallery’s permanent exhibitions are organised.

As exhibition conception creator, along with Marcel Fišer he participated at an exhibition of the collection of modern art at the Galley of Fine Arts in Cheb (2011–2012). While at GAVU he curated the exhibition Hanuš Schwaiger: Novokřtěnci v Münsteru, The New Dark Age of Love by Anežka Hošková (both in 2013) and Den, kdy sníh padal na hořící pole / The Day that Snow Fell on a Burning Field by Jiří Černický (2014).

Chrobák has sat on many specialist juries and commissions, e.g. on the jury for the Jindřich Chalupecký Award (2009–11).

He writes for many specialist periodicals (Photographer, Labyrinth Revue), especially for the magazine Art & Antiques, for which besides writing reviews and commentaries, since 2009 he has been writing a Manual for Contemporary Art Lovers, which reflects on the current situation on the art scene. 
Along with Tomáš Svoboda he writes a blog entitled Galérka, in which he satirises the poor presentation of art in regional galleries.

1997–2002
UK v Praze, Filozofická fakulta, Dějiny umění

od 2011
Brno – Moravská galerie, kurátor, pracovník metodického centra, vedoucí kurátor 2009–2011
Kutná Hora – Galerie Středočeského kraje, hlavní kurátor 2000–2008
Praha – Národní galerie, kurátor, ředitel Sbírky grafiky a kresby od 2001
Praha – Galerie Display, kurátor

2015
Jiří Valoch: Merde, tranzitdisplay, Praha 2014
Jiří Černický: den, kdy sníh padal na hořící pole, Cheb: GAVU 2013
Start Point 2013, GASK Kutná Hora
Hanuš Schwaiger: Novokřtěnci v Münsteru v roce 1534, 1881-1882, Cheb: GAVU
Anežka Hošková: the new dark age of love, Cheb: GAVU
Odstup, a jsi blíž, Uměleckoprůmyslové muzeum Brno 2012
Moderní umění, GAVU Cheb, od 2012 2011
Věznice: místo pro umění, DOX Praha 2009
Erotická revue, GASK Tomáš Svoboda: Expozice, Karlin Studios, Praha 2008
IN/ visible, Olomouc 2006
Jiří Thýn: All the best, Ateliér Josefa Sudka, Praha
V okovech smíchu: Karikatura a české umění 1900 – 1950, Dům U Kamenného zvonu, Praha 2002
Jan Autengruber: Dílo 1910 – 1920, NG – Palác Kinských, Praha

CHROBÁK, Ondřej. For Your Eyes Only: Sbírka Jiřího Valocha, Brno: Fait Gallery, 2014. CHROBÁK, Ondřej. Jiří Černický: den, kdy sníh padal na hořící pole, Cheb: GAVU, 2014. CHROBÁK, Ondřej. Anežka Hošková: the new dark age of love, Cheb: GAVU, 2013. CHROBÁK, Ondřej. Hanuš Schwaiger: Novokřtěnci v Münsteru v roce 1534, 1881–1882, Cheb: GAVU, 2013. CHROBÁK, Ondřej; HORÁK, Ondřej; REKOVÁ, Martina (eds.). Věznice: místo pro umění, Praha: DOX, Brno: Moravská galerie, 2011. CHROBÁK, Ondřej, LANG, Dominik, KOTÍKOVÁ, Gabriela (eds.). Galerie Jelení: Jelení Gallery: 1999–2009, Praha: CSU, 2010. CHROBÁK, Ondřej. Mikoláš Aleš: 1852–2007, Praha: NG, 2007. CHROBÁK, Ondřej; WINTER, Tomáš (eds.). V okovech smíchu: Karikatura a české umění 1900–1950, Praha: GHMP, 2006. CHROBÁK, Ondřej. Julius Payer: záliv smrti, Praha: NG, 2005. CHROBÁK, Ondřej (ed.) Display book 01/03, Display - Prostor pro současné umění / Space for Contemporary Art, Praha, 2004.