Exhibition / Event Introduction A century ago, Paris was the centre of freedom and experimentation for Czech avant-garde artists. Kupka and Šíma searched for a language for the invisible; Prague listened and responded in its own way. A hundred years later, Czech photography returns to this dialogue in a new form: fewer manifestos, more questions. Joy and Retreat brings together fourteen distinctive figures of the contemporary Czech photography scene, curated by Štěpánka Stein and organized with Teleport Gallery. Premiered at the prestigious PhotoSaintGermain festival in Paris in 2025, the exhibition now travels to Taipei as its second international stop, presented by the Czech Centre Taipei at MAISON ACME. In a world marked by rapid change, social upheaval, and accelerated digitization, these artists ask what it means to live in a postmodern society: where does joy come from, and what can serve as a refuge, both physical and metaphorical? Their works oscillate between reality and dream, documentation and staging, fragility and confidence. The portrait becomes a medium for viewing identity, closeness, physicality, and distance, creating an image of our post-factual era: as authentic as it is stylized, as true as it is edited. A pink scaffolding structure runs through the exhibition, connecting its parts and disrupting the traditional view of the gallery space. It evokes temporariness, support, and the concealment of imperfection, a hiding place built inside rather than outside. Exhibiting artists: Marie Tomanová, Hana Knížová, Bára Prášilová, Kateřina Sýsová, Tereza Kopelentová, Vladimír Kiva Novotný, Vojtěch Veškrna, Tomáš Jiráček, Tereza Zelenková, Michaela Karásek Čejková, Eliška Sky, Vendy Mlejnská, Viktorie Macánová, and Wlasta Laura Laurenčíková. Opening Reception: Saturday, 12 September 2026, 14:00 – 17:00 Joy and Retreat is not just the name of an exhibition. It is a proposal, an incentive, a confession: a celebration of the courage to be seen, or not to be seen.