Adéla Janská, Paulina Olowska, Caroline Walker: Za Pultem (Behind the Counter), Telegraph, Olomouc

The exhibition Za Pultem Behind the Counter explores diverse interpretations of femininity, tracing both the real and symbolic presence of women in the public sphere. It adopts a historical lens, reflecting on archetypal female figures of Socialist Modernism and the period of “Normalization” in Czechoslovakia—such as allegories of labour—and asks whether this visual canon allowed room for female desire. Scholars of the era often described the female worker as the Other. How, then, might we understand this socialist imaginary today?

Presenting a fresh perspective, the exhibition highlights how contemporary women artists across generations—Paulina Olowska, Caroline Walker, and Adéla Janská—use painting to decode and reconstruct the cultural memory of Modernism. Through this lens, the artists reflect on “recycled” iconographies of the 1950s–1990s and reconsider themes of women’s labour, intimacy, and visibility within public and private spheres.

Photo: Matěj Doležel