400 ASA refers to the sensitivity of film material, but for the members of the eponymous group of documentary photographers, the name symbolizes above all a sensitive approach to capturing reality. The photographers Karel Cudlín, Jan Dobrovský, Alžběta Jungrová, Antonín Kratochvíl, Jan Mihaliček and Martin Wágner present a selection of their documentary series in the collective exhibition 400 ASA.
The photographers’ work does not aim for immediate effect. The authors sensitively follow the fates of people and places whose stories often differ fundamentally from our everyday reality. They return, trace the changes and stay with their subjects for decades. Their photographs capture key moments and subtle stories of everyday life. In a world overwhelmed by images and the accelerated consumption of information, such an attentive approach is rare—which is why it feels so urgent.
Their inspiration comes from the humanist photography of legendary groups such as Magnum Photos, as well as from the powerful tradition of Czech documentary photography, which has been a global phenomenon since its beginnings. Each artist presents photographs that reflect their long-term interests, offering visitors a glimpse into different parts of the world and our recent history.
A special part of the exhibition is a curatorial project by Martin Wágner, who in recent years turned his focus to archival work. His series Negatives from the Dumpster rescues anonymous photographs from the 20th century, materials found at flea markets, in estates, or even discarded. For this exhibition, he has compiled a selection of these images from across decades of Czech history, which symbolically opens the exhibition. In doing so, he creates an image of memory—both personal and collective—that captures a century that witnessed the rise of photography.

Marie Kordovská

Karel Cudlín (*1960) is a legend of domestic documentary photography who has systematically captured the changes in society and life in Bohemia, Eastern Europe and Israel since the 1970s. His photographs are marked by empathy and a poetic sensitivity to ordinary moments.

Jan Dobrovský (*1960) grew up in a dissident family persecuted by the communist regime, which made him all the more involved in the restoration of democratic society after 1989. He worked in media and business before returning to documentary photography after 2000. His photographs often explore the transformation of rural and urban areas after the fall of communism, as well as the fate of socially and medically disadvantaged people.

400 ASA | Karel Cudlín, Jan Dobrovský, Alžběta Jungrová, Antonín Kratochvíl, Jan Mihaliček, Martin Wágner

Alžběta Jungrová (*1978) spent nearly a decade as a photojournalist in crisis and war zones including Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Gaza. Alongside her documentary projects, she has developed a strong body of original work, always emphasizing raw emotion and a distinctive artistic vision.

Antonín Kratochvíl (*1947) went into exile under the previous regime, where he became a renowned war photojournalist. He recorded conflicts and humanitarian crises on several continents and won many awards for his groundbreaking, rawly expressive images, including several World Press Photo awards.

Jan Mihaliček (1965) took his first photographs in Prague’s anti-regime underground movement before the Velvet Revolution. Immediately after the opening of the borders, he took his camera out into the world: he participated in the first humanitarian trips to wartime Yugoslavia or Nagorno-Karabakh. To this day he still photographs key social and cultural moments in the Czech Republic.

Martin Wágner (*1980) uncovers forgotten stories of both the present and the past. His photographic work focuses on the post-Soviet space – he repeatedly travels to remote areas of Russia and Ukraine, where he captures the everyday life of local people outside the media’s attention. At the same time he has been building a unique archive of old photographs in the project Negatives from a Dumpster. For more than two decades, he has been collecting and preserving old negatives found at flea markets or among discarded belongings, piecing together a visual memory of the 20th century.