Peter Sís – The Wall - Exhibition Opening

Czech Center New York presents Peter Sís—The Wall, an exhibition by the internationally acclaimed illustrator, author and filmmaker. Curated by Joachim Dvořák and Michaela Šilpochová, the exhibition is based on Sís’s award-winning autobiographical picture book “The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain." It will showcase a series of original illustrations from the book and a documentary installation featuring drawings, photographs, and objects made by Sís as well as objects and ephemera from the period of 1950s-1980s. Presented on replicas of red street noticeboards, which were used for propaganda of the communist regime, the installation creates a powerful account of the artist’s experience in Cold War-era Prague.

Considered Sís's most ambitious and personal book, “The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain” is a 2007 New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year, a 2009 Caldecott Honor Book, a 2008 Bank Street – Best Children’s Book of the Year, the winner of the 2008 Boston Globe – Horn Book Award for nonfiction, and a nominee for the 2008 Eisner Award for Best Publication for Kids.

“Peter Sís’s book is most of all about the will to live one’s life in freedom and should be required reading for all those who take their freedom for granted.” —Václav Havel, former president of the Czech Republic

PETER SÍS is an internationally renowned writer of children’s books, illustrator, graphic artist and a creator of animated films. He was born in 1949 in Brno and grew up in Prague. He studied painting and filmmaking at the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague and the Royal College of Art in London. He went to America in 1982, where he started illustrating for periodicals like The New York Times and soon began writing books.

Sís has received numerous awards for his work all over the world — from the Golden Bear at the Film Festival in Berlin to several medals from the American Library Association. ​He has got two Ragazzi Awards from the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. Peter Sís was the first children’s book artist to be named a MacArthur Fellow and in 2012 he won the Hans Christian Andersen Award for his lifetime work. His animated work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. His artwork can also be found in public spaces, from a mosaic in the New York underground to giant tapestries at Prague, Dublin, and Cape Town airports. He lives in New York City area with his family.

Masks and proof of vaccination are required to enter the venue. Photo ID will be checked.

The exhibition is organized by the Czech Center New York and produced by the Labyrint Publishing House in collaboration with the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art and Czech Centres.

Host or Publisher Czech Center New York