Helena Salichová - Shapes Hidden in Wood

The exhibition Shapes Hidden in Wood at the Gong Gallery presented for the first time the entire collection of Silesian painter and graphic artist Helena Salichová, which was created from the 1960s. It was on display from December 2025 to 15 March 2026 and concluded the Year of Helena Salichová in celebration of the 130th anniversary of her birth and the 50th anniversary of her death.

We warmly invite you to a new exhibition at the Gong Gallery!

At the Gong Gallery, the entire collection Shapes Hidden in Wood will be exhibited for the first time, which Helena Salichová worked on from the 1960s until almost the end of her life. This collection showcases not only Helena Salichová's rich imagination but also her extraordinary ability to bring the lines of natural materials to life. In the collection Shapes Hidden in Wood, this artist from Silesia transformed wooden boards into stories that still speak to us today through small interventions with a chisel or knife.

Helena Salichová (1895–1975) was a significant Silesian painter, graphic artist, illustrator, writer, and collector of folk culture. She was born in Kyjovice, and from childhood, she was shaped by the environment of the Polana Lowland and the folk art she learned about through her nanny, Hana Proská. A strong background for her artistic growth was also provided by her family, especially her father, a teacher, who guided her towards the appreciation of art and culture.

After graduating from the teacher training institute in Opava, she studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (1919–1926) under prominent figures of her time, including Max Švabinský, Vojtěch Hynaise, Vlaho Bukovac, Karel Krattner, and August Brömse. She briefly worked as a teacher in Kyjovice, then permanently settled in Polanka nad Odrou, where she lived and created throughout her life.

She is represented in the collections of significant Czech institutions.

The exhibition Shapes Hidden in Wood is organized on the occasion of the 130th anniversary of the author's birth and the 50th anniversary of her death, concluding the Year of Helena Salichová, which we began with the exhibition Professor and Student: Max Švabinský and Helena Salichová. Throughout the year, a number of events took place to commemorate this exceptional artist from Silesia: an exhibition at the Chagall Art Centre Helena Salichová – Painting, Graphics, a discussion in Klimkovice and in Polanka nad Odrou, where Salichová worked.