David Vávra: Running with Houses - Exhibition Opening and Catalog Launch

On Wednesday, March 15, 2017, at 7:00 PM, the opening of the jubilee exhibition of David Vávra will take place at the Jaroslav Fragner Gallery in Prague, Betlémské náměstí 5a. The exhibition will explore not only the architectural imprints of the author but also touches on his life's twists of poetic and artistic overlaps. The opening will be accompanied by the presentation of the publication "Running with Houses", the screening of the documentary "David Vávra's Journey in His Own Footsteps" (2017), and a concert performance by Monika Načevá.
 
David Vávra is not only a well-known actor and promoter of architecture (the series "Shimmering Cities" and "Shimmering Traces" with Radovan Lipus) but primarily an architect. This year’s jubilee has become an occasion to reflect on his architectural and artistic work – an exhibition presenting the author's design will be held concurrently at the Kuzebauch Gallery in Břevnov. "Turning sixty is a time for a certain mountain prize when it's necessary to stop, get off the bike, and look into the valley. I am also doing so and sorting works for various exhibitions. In five days we filmed the documentary; ironically, a broken roof tile two floors above my studio helped to sort the materials. Water washed out several decades of forgotten sketches, drawings, and projects. Pieces of torn paper were lying in the fallen plaster, bringing along lost tasks, situations, and human encounters. This flood contributed to the urge to find traces of the past and exhibit them," says David Vávra.
In addition to several selected buildings, which will also be presented in the form of models, the exhibition will feature a typologically conceived overview of the work, as well as original pastels including sketches and plans for unrealized and unfinished projects. An interesting recollection will be the projects/collages of the D.N.A. group (Workshop of Modern Architecture), which were prepared for exhibitions on Urbanity in the second half of the 1980s at the Jaroslav Fragner Gallery. On the other hand, significant buildings from recent years include the conversion of the Vertex factory into the City Library in Hradec Králové, a villa in Jevany, Gallery 4 in Cheb, and the reconstruction of the Kladno City Theatre. This will be presented along with other realizations from David Vávra's studio – including Švandovo Theatre in Smíchov and Dobeška Theatre, the home stage of the Sklep Theater, as well as scenic designs for theatrical plays.
“When I saw my father at the drawing board, I declared that I wanted to be an architect too. At the age of nine, I drew hotels, cafes, trains, rivers, even Vinetou, with thick markers that smelled captivatingly. Then I was raised by art education teachers, and I found unattainable models in the history of world art. At about thirty, I felt the desire to return to the creative freedom of four years, and for the remaining thirty years, I have been trying to do so. It is often a race, a cross-country run, a sprint with obstacles, a triathlon, a marathon, in short, to run with houses,” explains the architect the title of the exhibition.
“David Vávra approaches design not only as an architect but also as a designer. In interiors, there are often reliefs according to his designs made from so-called fusing glass or perspex artifacts that complement the interior, often as colorful lighting fixtures like stained glass. Light, the saturated basic trio of colors or broken, cubism-influenced shapes, are among the main features that permeate Vávra's small realizations and large buildings, small chapels, or the conversion of an old factory into a library,” characterizes Vávra's work Klára Pučerová.
 
David Vávra (*March 9, 1957) studied architecture at the Czech Technical University in Prague and the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague and completed an internship in Paris. From 1985 to 1989, he worked as a designer at the DRUPOS cooperative, and since 1990, he has been running his own studio together with Kateřina Vajčnerová, Robert Daněk, and others. From 1986 to 1990, he participated as a member of D.N.A. /Workshop of Modern Architecture/ in the Urbanity 86, 88, and 90 exhibitions.
In 1997, he received, together with František Skála, a Special Prize for Interior of the Year for the Akropolis restaurant, in 2004 the Grand Prix of Czech Architecture in the category of Artistic Work in Architecture for the installation of the statue of Franz Kafka in Old Town, Prague, and in 2008 he was nominated for the award of the Club for Old Prague for a new building in a historic environment for the Footbridge with a lookout tower in Cheb.

Accompanying Program:
Tuesday, March 28, at 3 PM commented tour with the author
Thursday, April 6, at 6 PM commented tour with the author

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