News

Visit Vaclav Jira – Virtuoso of the Imagination at Manes in Prague

We warmly invite you to a retrospective exhibition of works available for purchase by Václav Jíra, entitled VIRTUOSO OF THE IMAGINATION: Machines That Dream. Paintings That Resonate.

Dates: 19 November – 4 December 2026
Venue: MÁNES Exhibition Hall, Prague
Open daily: 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

The exhibition presents a selection of works spanning the artist’s entire career, from Constructivist painting to kinetic objects, sculptures and landscapes. It also features works inspired by listening to music, in which rhythm and melody provide the inspiration for visual compositions. In these works, the artist revisits and freely develops motifs from his Constructivist paintings of machines and scrap metal.

Visitors will have the opportunity to see key works that offer a comprehensive overview of Václav Jíra’s exceptionally diverse and original artistic career.

Mánes will host the exhibition debut of his latest series of nine paintings, inspired by a composition by the legendary Don Preston (born 1932), the keyboardist who spent many years playing alongside Frank Zappa in The Mothers of Invention and also performed with John Lennon.

Don Preston recorded his latest album in Prague at the age of 93 and describes it as his final album. Entitled “Don Preston 93 1/2”, it will be released by the Czech label DOPE YEAH RECORDS as part of the exclusive international project Vinyl Vision 3000. To mark the occasion, a special collector’s Art Big Box will be released, featuring items such as a specially designed artwork incorporating a unique vinyl record, two LPs, a cassette and a set of six posters reproducing Václav Jíra’s paintings inspired by Don Preston’s music. The edition is limited to just 300 numbered copies and is being distributed to 22 countries worldwide.

For an exclusive preview of works from the upcoming exhibition, click here.

Admission: CZK 200
Children under 120 cm tall: FREE
Seniors, children under 18 and ZTP disability card holders: CZK 100