Discover Ben Uri’s new exhibition with curator Nicola Baird
Czech Routes features the work of 21 painters, printmakers and sculptors, many of whom fled to Britain as racial and political refugees from National Socialism in the 1930s. These include sculptor Anita Mandl and painter-printmaker Käthe Strenitz, just two of the 669 Kindertransportees rescued by British humanitarian Nicholas Winton. Also represented are works by subsequent generations of Czechoslovakian artists, including Irena Sedlecká, who fled her country’s totalitarian Communist regime in the 60s, as well as those who, between the 1970s and 1990s, have made the positive decision to immigrate to Britain to study and develop professionally. The exhibition showcases work drawn primarily from the Ben Uri Collection alongside external loans from important private collections.
By Judi Herman
Czech Routes runs daily until 21 April and then on Mondays only until 20 May or by appointment. Ben Uri Gallery, NW8 0RH. 020 7604 3991. www.benuri.org.uk