Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia on January 1, 1993. “The fall of the communist regime in November 1989 opened up the opportunity for Czech players to go abroad, especially to the NHL, without having to emigrate,” the article reads. “The unforgettable 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, brought us back into the game.”

The Czech Republic won the gold medal at the first Olympic Games featuring NHL players. “It looked as if the victory in Nagano became the realization of the optimistic 1990s associated with the first period of restoring democracy and identity of the modern Czech Republic,” we read in the description next to the set of photos.

Hašek and Jágr, the team’s two stars, are portrayed not as hockey icons but as religious icons – Hašek in a Buffalo Sabers uniform, Jágr in a Pittsburgh Penguins uniform with gold halos. “Art can now express everything, without censorship, without borders, and this liberation also applies to the topic of hockey,” the article reads.

There is a picture of the legendary coach Ivan Hlinka, who led the national team in Nagano, and not only him. It’s because of him. “Few people know that one of his hobbies was painting,” the description says. “He signed his paintings with the pseudonym HLIVAN.”

“Sad Clown,” an existential self-portrait from the early 1980s, shows Hlinka as a sad clown looking at his hockey bag. Above him hang four of his old jerseys, including the one he wore as a center for the Vancouver Canucks from 1981-83. “This oil painting can be seen as an artistic summary of his end to his career as a professional ice hockey player,” the description reads.