The exhibition at GMU’s White Cube takes a unique look at the changing face of Hradec Králové between 1954 and 1984 through photographs taken by two local personalities – Zdeněk Merta (b. 1955) and, to a lesser extent, his father Jan (1927–2022). The exhibited black-and-white photographs represent only a fraction of the family’s extensive archive, with the last images dating to 1984, the year Zdeněk moved to Prague.
Zdeněk Merta’s work was significantly influenced by his father, an enthusiastic puppeteer and photographer. As a child, his regular visits to Hradec Králové’s DRAK Theatre – where his father Jan documented children’s performances in 1964–1976 as a freelance photographer – awakened an early interest in the theater. Zdeněk himself has been taking photographs since he was seventeen years old. His first series of distinctive images date to the second half of the 1970s, and he continues to systematically engage in photography to this day.
The photographs selected for the exhibition capture Hradec Králové’s main square and the historic old town, the greater city center, the local cultural scene, and important people from Merta’s life, but there are also picturesque landscapes and still-lifes.
Zdeněk Merta’s photographs form a valuable visual archive that documents not just the changing face of Hradec Králové during the socialist era but also captures the life of its residents, its architecture, and the city’s urban space. The exhibition invites visitors to remember, to discover, and to compare the images to the city’s appearance today. Above all, it pays tribute to a photographer who has created a body of work that transcends the documentary genre and whose artistic quality makes it a unique witness to an era.
ZDENĚK MERTA (b. 1955 Hradec Králové) originally apprenticed as an electrician and began taking photographs in the 1970s. In 1978, he began working for the REAG advertising agency in Hradec Králové, and in 1980 he was made the official photographer and graphic designer for the Victorious February Theatre in Hradec Králové – today’s Klicpera Theatre. He began working freelance in 1985. In 1990–1998, he worked for Lidové noviny, and in 1999–2011 he worked for the Prague German-Language Theatre Festival. His photographs have been shown at many exhibitions and have been printed in numerous publications. A portion of his Double Portraits (Dvojportréty) series spanning the years 1992–1996 can be found in the collections of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague.
JAN MERTA (1927 Nová Paka – 2022 Hradec Králové) was an amateur puppet maker, dramaturge, director, stage designer, puppeteer, wood carver and photographer. A professional chemist, in his spare time he intensively devoted himself to puppet theatre. In 1956, he co-founded the TJ Sokol Hradec Králové-Malšovice puppet ensemble, and he later (1964–1976) worked as a freelance photographer for Hradec Králové’s DRAK Theatre. In 1978–1993, he and Věra Kulhánková headed the Paravánek children’s ensemble, and in 1984–1989 he was head of the Children’s Puppet Ensemble of the Regional House of Youth and Pioneers in Hradec Králové. He organized, lectured at, and served as a juror at puppet theatre festivals. In 1992, he helped to establish the Free Association of Theatre Artists and contributed to the founding of today’s Centre for Art Activities in Hradec Králové. He was awarded the J. K. Tyl Gold Medal for his activities, and he is a laureate of the Award of the Czech Ministry of Culture (2007).
The exhibition is held as part of 800th anniversary celebrations of the town of Hradec Králové.
