Anna Zemánková [ Frieze Masters ]

The Gallery of Everything is proud to present the spiritual botany of the self-taught female image-maker, Anna Zemánková (1908 - 1986).

The bespoke installation, curated exclusively for Spotlight at Frieze Masters 2026, features over 25 works on paper: from early large-scale pastels, to intricate embroideries, botanical cut-outs and rarely-seen miniatures. It also features a series of works originally exhibited in the central pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale (2013).

Born in the former Czechoslovakia at the turn of the century, Zemánková spent much of her adult life raising a family under communist rule. Encouraged by her children to revive a forgotten pastime, Zemánková was well into her 50s when she began to draw again; yet what emerged was unexpectedly personal, prolific and profound.

Working from the early hours of the morning, Zemánková drew, shaded and stitched a cosmic landscape into being: strange organic forms, seemingly influenced by regional decorative art, floral Czech spiritualism and the aesthetics of science fiction.

Zemánková’s compositions were neither botanical studies nor abstract inventions. Her visionary language seemed to occupy a singular territory between observation and imagination, combining the precision of scientific illustration with the freedom of automatic drawing.

Zemánková started to exhibit locally. Early Czech collectors of her remarkable drawings included playwright Václav Havel (1936 - 2011) and filmmaker Jan Švankmajer (b 1934), alongside Austrian artist Arnulf Rainer (1929 - 2025), who featured her drawings in his own exhibition at London’s Serpentine Gallery (1987).

However, it was Zemánková’s inclusion in the seminal at Outsiders (1979) at Hayward Gallery (London) which led to the most significant acclaim. This was followed by Arte Incomum (1981) at the São Paulo Biennale (São Paulo) curated by artist and enthusiast Victor Musgrave.

Following Zemánková’s death in 1986, the artist was increasingly featured in international exhibitions, notably Inner Worlds Outside (2006) at Whitechapel Gallery (London), Ostalgia (2011) at New Museum (NY) and The Botanical Mind (2021) at Camden Art Centre (London).

Zemánková was also selected for two significant Venice Biennales: The Encyclopaedic Palace (2013) curated by Massimilano Gioni, and Foreigners Everywhere (2024) curated by Adriano Pedrosa.

Zemánková’s fictional herbarium invites comparisons with female artists such as Hilma af Klint, Georgia O’Keeffe and Louise Bourgeois: female pioneers whose art similarly sought to explore connections between the natural world and the unseen. Museum collections now include Centre Pompidou (Paris), Albertina Museum (Vienna), Museum of Fine Arts (Boston) and many others.

The current exhibition at Frieze Masters aims to honour the breadth, vision and complexity of Zemánková’s once-private activities, and her emergence as one of the most remarkable artistic discoveries of the 20th century. For details and sales, please contact the gallery.