The Curated Object

Exhibitions Prague. Adolf Vrhel: Photographs. Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague. The Curated Object

Adolf Vrhel, Herec Miroslav Horniček doma, 1970, Foto: UPM

 

Adolf Vrhel, Návrh výzdoby vstupní haly elektrárny A1, cca 1970, Foto: UPM

 

Adolf Vrhel, Konstrukce, 1963, Foto: UPM

Adolf Vrhel, Návrh výzdoby podniku ZEZ, Rychnov nad Kněžnou,1967, Foto: UPM

Adolf Vrhel, Autoportrét, 1967, Foto: UPM

Adolf Vrhel, Reklama podniku Kara, Trutnov 2. pol. 60. let, Foto: UPM

 

Adolf Vrhel: Photographs

January 27th—April 17th, 2011

Czech photography of the 1960s was highly variegated in terms of theme and genre. Adolf Vrhel (1935—1975) was one of the numerous outstanding figures in photography of the time. Although he graduated in architecture, he became a professional photographer, collaborating mainly with the Domov (Home) magazine. He produced a great many photos of home furnishings and decorative arts created by an entire generation of young designers in the fields of furniture, textile, glass, ceramics and fashion clothing. Concurrently, he designed and realized monumental photographic compositions for interiors. These works featured details from nature and attested to his fascination with the world of modern technology. 

For more information please visit: Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague

 

 

 

 

 

Exhibitions Prague. P. Rada! Paráda! Pravoslav Rada: Art Ceramics. Decorative Arts Museum, Prague. The Curated Object

 

Hlava s rudými rety, Plastika, 1988, Keramika v.45,5 cm,š.26,5 cm,p.8,7 cm foto: UPM

reverse view, same as above 

Hlava s pruhy, Plastika, 1988, Keramika, v.45 cm,p.9 cm, foto: UPM

Plastika Jak šlo vejce do světa, Pravoslav Rada, 1958, Keramika, v.34 cm, foto: UPM

Plastiky Elfové s hudebními nástroji, Pravoslav Rada, 1963, Keramika, v.34 cm, foto: UPM

caption and credits same as above

caption and credits same as above 

Plastika Homér myslící na Chiméru, Pravoslav Rada, 1963, Keramika, v.43 cm, foto: UPM

Váza antropomorfního tvaru, Pravoslav Rada, 1961, Keramika, v.42 cm, foto: UPM

Dóza s portrétem malíře Kamila Lhotáka, Pravoslav Rada, 1984, Keramika, v.21,5 cm, p.20 cm, foto: UPM

Závěsný reliéf hlava s růží, Pravoslav Rada, 1985, Červenice, v.4,5 cm, p.32 cm foto: UPM

Pták se žlutozelenými znaky, Pravoslav Rada, Keramika, 70. léta 20. stol. v. 14 cm, foto: UPM and Pták se zelenočervenými  znaky, Pravoslav Rada, Keramika 70. léta 20. stol. v. 8 cm foto: UPM

Kočka ležící s modře pruhovaným ocasem, Pravoslav Rada, Keramika, 70. léta 20. stol. V. 5 cm,d. 12 cm foto: UPM and Kočka sedící se zelenými puntíky Pravoslav Rada, Keramika, 70. léta 20. stol. p. 12 cm foto: UPM

Jídelní soubor, aspirantská práce na VŠUP, Pravoslav Rada, Porcelán, 1961, foto: UPM

Pravoslav Rada, foto: archiv P.Rady

Fontána ve Vlašimi, Jindřiška a Pravoslav Radovi, (architekt Fencl), Keramika, 1983 foto: archiv P.Rady

 

P. Rada! Paráda! Pravoslav Rada: Art Ceramics

February 3rd—April 25th, 2011

 

Pravoslav Rada — a classic of Czech ceramic art — has devoted a lifetime particularly to studio figurative work, ranging from animal sculptures (fish, cats and birds), mythical creatures (elfs, angels and archangels) to human figures. Rada’s extensive and varied oeuvre is endowed with wit, humorous exaggeration and subtle irony, as well as a certain detachment and pensive wisdom. The artist employs a broad range of ceramic materials, including porcelain and a variety of surface finishes. He makes bold use of bright, contrasting glazes, applies decals and transfers photo images (for example, of the Suchý and Šlitr tandem of artists). Rada has produced numerous inventive sculptural installations that have enriched public spaces, such as shopping centres, schools and housing estates. Just like his smaller pieces, these sculptures are highly expressive, instantly identifiable and, above all, truly original. 

The exhibition presented at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague is intended for visitors of all ages: the oldest generation will be reminded of the times when Czech ceramic art was at its pinnacle, the middle and young generations will appreciate that contemporary art can also carry a message and be graspable, while the youngest visitors will enjoy the playfulness and energy with which Rada imbues his ceramic objects.

For more information please visit: Decorative Arts Museum, Prague

Exhibitions Prague. Interior Textiles Designed by ÚBOK Praha. Museum of Textile in Česká Skalice. The Curated Object

Bicyclists — printed decoration textile Designed by Dana Holá, 1st half of the 1960s

Interior Textiles Designed by ÚBOK Praha

September 28th—December 31st, 2009

Interior-textile designing was an important part of the activities carried out by the Institute of Fashion and Interior Design (ÚBOK). On view in this exhibition are examples of home fabrics, both printed and woven, designed by employees and external collaborators of ÚBOK and the Institute’s predecessor. Some of the textiles were exhibited at the World’s Fair Expo ’58 in Brussels, in the section called Vkus (Taste) — a highly-acclaimed display of the Czechoslovak Pavilion.

For more information please visit: The Textile Museum

Exhibitions Prague. The Argentinian Tradition of Drinking Mate. Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague. The Curated Object

Spherical vessel for drinking maté
Czechoslovakia, 1st half of 20th century
earthenware, height ca. 15 cm
photo: Dr. Eduardo A. Durini Foundation

The Argentinian Tradition of Drinking Maté
December 19th, 2007-March 9th, 2008

Some 140 maté vessels from the collection of Ildefonso Suescun and María Dolores Benard de Suescun of Argentina will be featured in this exhibition. Maté drinking has been a cherished tradition among the Argentinian people from pre-Columbian times. Originally, maté cups were made from gourds, later on also from other materials, including silver. Commissioned by Argentina, ceramic maté-drinking ware was produced from the late 19th century to the beginning of the Second World War in some European countries, particularly Germany and Czechoslovakia. In the 1940s, Argentina established its own production of such containers; however their quality was inferior compared to the European output. The Suescuns began to collect these artifacts sixty years ago, the collection now comprising more than 600 items of various shapes and decoration.

The exhibition has been prepared in partnership with the Dr. Eduardo A. Durini Foundation of Buenos Aires and the Embassy of Argentina in Prague.

For more information please visit: The Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague
-Joanne Molina

Exhibitions Prague. Flowers in the Dustbin: Society and Fashion in Czechoslovakia in the Seventies. The Decorative Arts Museum in Prague. The Curated Object: International Decorative Arts Exhibitions

 
Ladies’ summer shoes
Italy, beginning of the 1970s
natural leather, Icam‘s

Concept and Exhibition Curator: Konstantina Hlaváčková
December 7th,  2007 -February 17th,  2008

The exhibition is the next installment of a series of exhibitions of clothing organised by the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague in Prague. Dedicated to the seventies, it seeks to present the lifestyle of the decade in Czechoslovak fashion and fashion accessories together with foreign manufactures and articles made by domestic dress-makers (roughly seventy models and around forty accessories).

From the point of view of developments in international fashion this was a very rich era and in many respects a turning-point. Fashion trends born at the end of the sixties and connected with the ideas of the hippie movement were developed to the full in the following decade. Wardrobes filled up with jeans-style clothes and garments inspired by folklore oriental and South American styles. Concurrently there was a vogue for romantic retro looking back mainly to the thirties and forties. Starting from the middle of the decade, an aggressive style including sadomasochistic elements dress entered fashion with the punk movement. Traditional haute couture developed under the influence of what was known as the "counter-culture" or even "anti-culture".

All these levels of seventies fashion, originating in Western Europe, found an echo in communist Czechoslovakia, even if in a constrained and deformed way resulting from state-imposed ideology and the backwardness of the textiles and garment industry.

For more information please visit: The Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague
-Joanne Molina