This German-English catalog, accompanying the exhibition of the same name at the Klingspor Museum in Offenbach am Main, explores the efforts of Czech artists to create books that are striking not only for their content but also for their visual design. It highlights the fundamental characteristics of the development of Czech book art and design across its diverse stylistic transformations and cultural-historical contexts. The exhibition focuses on the modern visual form of the Czech book from its origins in the late 19th century during the Art Nouveau and Symbolist periods (including works by German-Czech artists), through avant-garde artistic movements (Cubism, Poetism, Surrealism) and the functionalist approach to visual communication, up to book art of the second half of the 20th century. Finally, attention is given to the transformation of design and artistic creation following the Velvet Revolution and to current trends in contemporary Czech book design and illustration.
The catalog and exhibition were prepared by the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague from its collections in partnership with the Klingspor Museum on the occasion of the 2026 Frankfurt Book Fair, where the Czech Republic is the guest of honor.
Publisher: Klingspor Museum Offenbach, UPM 2026
Text: Radim Vondráček, Iva Knobloch, Lucie Vlčková
Graphic design: Laura Brunner, Leonie Martin, Masha Egorova
Photo: UPM, Ondřej Kocourek
978-3-9826270-4-5
CZK 480