The reconstructed Jesuit college in Uherske Hradiste today serves as the Slovak Center of Culture and Tradition, whose main attraction is the Joza Uprka Gallery. It represents the most extensive collection of works by this important Czech painter, collected thanks to the long-term efforts of businessman and collector Zdenek Zemek, who created it in cooperation with Petr Vasat, the founder of the original Joza Uprka Gallery that opened in 1995 in Prague.
This gallery played a key role in promoting Uprka’s work at home and abroad. Today, the collection includes not only works from the Moravian Slovacko Foundation, but also loans from the National Gallery in Prague and other state galleries. In addition to Uprka’s paintings, sculptures by his brother Franta Uprka are also on display in the exhibition, and in the corridors of the gallery you can view authentic photographs documenting the life and work of this artist.
Joza Uprka (1861–1940) was born in Knezdub in Moravian Slovacko, whose nature, folk traditions and everyday life became a permanent inspiration for his work. He was interested in art from a young age and thanks to his talent he was able to study at the academies in Prague and Munich. During his studies, he met other important artists, such as Alfons Mucha and Ludek Marold. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Uprka became one of the most prominent representatives of Czech fine art. In his works, he depicted celebrations, customs, costumes and everyday work of people in Moravian Slovacko, but also in neighboring Slovakia.
He was able to combine a realistic approach to depicting figures and landscapes with elements of impressionism, which gave his works a unique atmosphere and fresh colors.
As a painter of his people, Uprka focused on capturing the folklore and traditional way of life that was still alive in his time. His paintings, such as the famous “Ride of the Kings,” are among the highlights of his work and still fascinate viewers today with their color harmony and detailed processing. However, Uprka was not only a chronicler of rural life, he was also an artist who sought new paths in the visual arts and contributed to the development of modern realism. His work thus remains not only an important artistic contribution, but also a valuable testimony of the cultural wealth of Moravian Slovacko.
The Joza Uprka Gallery is therefore a place that offers not only a view of the work of this exceptional artist, but also a deeper understanding of the traditions and culture of the region that Uprka loved all his life and made famous through his work.
