Concrete park above Prague metro station unveils its final exhibition

Gallery Vltavská (Galerie Vltavská), the concrete park above Prague's metro station, will soon disappear from the city's landscape as it makes way for the construction of a new concert hall. But visitors can take one last look at the space through June 23 at a new exhibit called Horror of the Void (Horror vacui).

Since 2020, Gallery Vltavská has showcased a total of six art exhibits as part of Prague's Art for the City project. But while previous exhibits presented artwork around the concrete park, Horror of the Void highlights the location itself.

As part of the exhibit, artist Hynek Skoták cleaned a single strip of the park from the graffiti and other visual smog that traditionally inhabits the space, carefully manicured its greenery, and planted new flora. The restored portion of the space makes for a striking contrast against the rest of it.

"What would one particular place near the Vltavská metro station look like if we cleaned it of graffiti, overgrown trees and garbage?" curator Silvie Šeborová states in a press release. "The answer to this question is provided by Hynk Skoták's art project." 

"It's a puzzle piece from the large color picture of Prague that fell under the carpet face down, and I put it back into the system, where it now shines against the urban jungle with its original surfaces and floral decoration," adds Skoták.

The new exhibit was unveiled last week, and immediately handed back to the city: over the next two months, visitors will have a chance to see how the area changes to fit back in with its surroundings.

From June 23, however, Gallery Vltavská will be no more, as the area will turn into a construction zone in preparation for the building of the new concert hall and other developments in the area. This final exhibit gives Praguers the last chance to appreciate a long-neglected space.

"Horror of the Void comes on the eve of the absolute demise of a physical space, to which the work of art bears witness," says Prague metro architect Anna Švarc.

"The intention to celebrate the original architectural idea of ​​the place appealed to the us, but its 'sudden and fatal' end becomes almost symbolic in the context of the work. The fear of emptiness will be followed by real emptiness. A new city will subsequently grow in its place."