A remarkable collection of Czech art brut arrives in Katowice with Flowers of Other Worlds, an exhibition exploring spirituality, imagination and the symbolic power of flowers.
The Silesian Museum in Katowice is presenting Flowers of Other Worlds. Anna Zemánková, Cecilie Marková, Marie Kodovská, and Czech Spiritists, an exhibition that introduces Polish audiences to one of the most distinctive collections of Czech “art brut”. On display until 27 October 2026, the exhibition explores the relationship between creativity, spirituality and the symbolic language of flowers through works rarely seen outside the Czech Republic.
Organised in collaboration with the Museum of Art in Olomouc, the exhibition continues the long-standing partnership between the two institutions, which has enabled visitors in both countries to discover significant examples of self-taught and outsider art. Following last year's You Are Not Alone: Outsiders in Art, the latest exhibition focuses on a fascinating chapter of European artistic history that remains relatively unknown in Poland.
Flowers as Symbols of Inner Worlds
Rather than depicting flowers as they appear in nature, the exhibition presents them as expressions of emotion, memory and imagination. Across paintings, drawings and mixed-media works, floral forms become symbols of transformation, spirituality and the unseen worlds that exist beyond everyday experience.
Curators describe these works as a kind of "botany of the soul", where flowers act as metaphors rather than botanical studies. The result is an exhibition that moves between dreamlike imagery and deeply personal reflection, encouraging visitors to consider how artists use nature to express ideas that are difficult to put into words.
The exhibition features works by more than 20 artists, including celebrated Czech creators Anna Zemánková, Cecilie Marková, Marie Kodovská and Josef Kotzian, alongside pieces by anonymous artists whose work forms an important part of the “art brut” tradition.
Discovering the World of Mediumistic Drawing
One of the exhibition's most distinctive themes is mediumistic drawing, a remarkable artistic movement that flourished in Bohemia and Moravia during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Artists associated with this tradition believed they were acting as intermediaries rather than conventional creators, producing drawings through states of intense inspiration that they associated with invisible spiritual forces. Many carefully recorded the duration of these creative sessions, considering themselves channels for messages rather than the authors of the finished works.
Although rooted in spiritualist beliefs, these drawings also reveal striking artistic qualities. Their spontaneous forms and reliance on free automatism anticipated ideas later embraced by Surrealist artists, making them an important yet often overlooked chapter in European art history.
Art Brut in a Unique Setting
The exhibition is presented in the Silesian Museum, one of Poland's most distinctive museum spaces. Built on the site of the former Katowice coal mine, the museum combines restored industrial architecture with modern underground galleries, where much of its permanent and temporary exhibition programme is displayed beneath the surface.
The setting creates a compelling backdrop for an exhibition concerned with hidden worlds and unseen realities, while also reflecting the museum's commitment to presenting both historical collections and contemporary artistic perspectives from Poland and abroad.
Visitors can also deepen their understanding of the exhibition during curatorial tours, scheduled for 28 August and 18 September at 5:30 pm.
Visitor Information
Exhibition: Flowers of Other Worlds. Anna Zemánková, Cecilie Marková, Marie Kodovská, and Czech Spiritists
Venue: Silesian Museum, ul. T. Dobrowolskiego 1, Katowice
Dates: 30 July – 27 October 2026
Opening Hours:
Monday: Closed
Tuesday to Sunday: 10:00 am to 8:00 pm
Admission:
Standard ticket: 29PLN
Reduced ticket: 19PLN
Curatorial Tours:
28 August, 5:30 pm
18 September, 5:30 pm
Whether visitors are familiar with “art brut” or discovering it for the first time, Flowers of Other Worlds offers a rare opportunity to experience an important chapter of Czech artistic expression in Poland. Combined with the distinctive setting of the Silesian Museum, the exhibition provides a thought-provoking journey through creativity, symbolism and the many ways artists have sought to interpret worlds beyond the visible.
