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“Schön Schräg” - Czech Cubism

The Czech Center in Berlin presented a documentary movie about the poor working conditions in the Czech RepublicThe Czech Center in Berlin is presenting a design exhibition dedicated to the Czech-Slovak cubism

December 17th, 2018
Andrea Kacirova, News from Berlin
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To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia, the Czech Center is presenting the design exhibition “schön schräg.” It is dedicated to modern product design in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and it shows a tradition from the time of Cubism to the work of young designers in the present day.

The exhibition organizers, Wolfgang Binder and Bettina Güldner, were invited to show their view of artistic peculiarities that cannot be found in the rest of Europe. The exhibited objects, including loans from the Czech Republic and Slovakia, reveal a fundamental understanding of how to shape out of geometry. The foundations for this seem to have been laid in the scientific-philosophical teaching of Prague since the 16th century, and continued to be popular until now in general education art education. Elegance and dynamic appearance, functionality and constructive sophistication of many everyday objects as well as graphic designs appear in this context as unmistakable Czech / Slovak phenomena in design. In an international design scene that often demands more interchangeable results, young designers from both countries can assert themselves with remarkable autonomy and distinctiveness.

Accompanying the exhibition, in January and February 2019, a roundtable discussion and a workshop with design students will facilitate the exchange of ideas between designers / experts and the interested public from Prague and Berlin. The exhibition is complemented by a pop up shop by Modernista with the best design pieces from the last 100 years from the Czech Republic. In collaboration with the Museum of Applied Arts in Prague, Modernista reissued a number of "classic" editions: Cubist ceramics by Pavel Janák, Rudolf Stockar and Vlastislav Hofman, furniture and Wohnaseccoires based on designs by Josef Gočár or Jindřich Halabala, Ladilav Sutnars wooden toys and many more unique products. Modernista also collects and restores valuable, original furniture, lamps and everyday objects. In addition, Modernista also offers other new design products that have been proven over the years.

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News from Berlin