Installation of Martina Staňková’s painting in St. Benedict’s Church.

Martina Staňková: Puddle

The Baroque pulpit in the ancient Hradčany church is impossible to miss. Yet today it is, in effect, a defunct piece of church furniture, degraded by disuse into a museum artifact, a witness to ancient history that now merely adds to the “sacred atmosphere” of the interior. Perhaps that is precisely why painter Martina Staňková chose this pulpit as a temporary setting for her painting—a pictogram. Where the preacher once stood, another figure now shifts uneasily against a black background. He does not preach, he does not shout—he is silent. He is not marked by any decisive, admonishing, warning, or otherwise pious-looking gesture. It is a person who is rather unsettled, unpleasantly taken aback, a person who has somehow stepped—the blue area in the lower right leaves us in no doubt—into a puddle. And now we are all staring at him. After all, no one can simply hide on the pulpit. Who will run away, who will turn away first, us or him? Or do we have any other option?

Norbert Schmidt, curator

The unveiling of the installation will take place on Sunday, May 24, after the 9 a.m. Mass (around 9:50 a.m.). The unveiling is part of the Pentecost program.

The Puddle will remain in the church until August 30, 2026; you can view it during the church’s opening hours.

Martina Staňková

is a graduate of the Intermedia and Painting departments at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (UMPRUM). She has participated in more than thirty exhibition projects. Recent examples include the solo exhibitions Tiger Wanted in Velká Bystřice and Pilgrim’s Paradise at the castle in Valeč, I’ll Leave You Here at the Mercy of the Beasts at the Cifra Gallery in Doubice, North Bohemia, Holland Šukariben at the 35m2 Gallery in Prague, and her participation in the group exhibition Personal Mythology at the Brno House of Arts – House of the Lords of Kunštát. At the turn of 2025/26, she intervened in the academic church of the Most Holy Savior near Charles Bridge, installing a piece titled Sen (Dream) within the Baroque chasuble frame in the Chapel of St. Francis Xavier. You can learn more about Martina Staňková on the website www.martinastankova.cz and on Instagram @martina_stankova.

Organized by Fortna in collaboration with CTU Prague.