Curator: Magdalena Juříková

Jaroslav Beneš (* 1946) started as a theatre photographer in the Alfa theatre in Pilsen. Later, he became an archivist and photographer at the Prague Waterworks. He is a co-founder of several associations of photographers (Aktiv volné fotografie, 1989; Prague House of Photography, PHP, 1991; Český dřevák, 2000).
Jaroslav Beneš, Untitled, 2015, black and white photo

He is best known for his long-term series of photographs of the Prague metro where the subject matter is mainly architectural details of the subway and the composition of light, its intersections and “animations” in empty space. He is also the author of series that deal with other architectural complexes, such as the Défense quarter in Paris, the industrial area in Katowice or the villa of the architect Otto Rothmayer. The exhibition is expected to include a selection of these series and will conclude with Beneš’s most contemporary work, which, in a change from the large-scale cameras of the past, incorporates the use of digital technology. The exhibition is intended as a tribute to yet another of the founding figures of the PHP, in whose premises the GHMP is now housed, whom we are continuously presenting as part of a long-term concept at the House of Photography.

 Prague City Gallery — House of Photography