To the exhibition of Petr Stolín at DUČB

In mid-June, an exhibition of the Czech architect Petr Stolín was launched at the South Bohemian House of Art and Architecture. Before that, the gallery briefly displayed the results of two architectural competitions, where the local studio Malý Chmel achieved success. Last year, most exhibitions at DUČB had to be cancelled or postponed to a later date. The one who reacted most flexibly to last year’s pandemic was Petr Hájek, who, with the help of a trio of red periscopes, allowed people to peek into the closed halls from the street. The exhibition "Petr Stolín Architect" presents the work of a Liberec studio that has won both the first and fourth editions of the Czech Architecture Award. In addition to cameraman Oskar Stolín, the exhibition also involved curator Filip Šenk, with whom Petr Stolín collaborated three years ago on the installation 5866, organized at the Prague GJF, and previously on the traveling exhibition Punk in Czech Architecture. Šenk and Stolín also work at the Faculty of Art and Architecture at the Technical University in Liberec. One heads the Department of Art History and the other the Department of Architecture. Stolín teaches architecture in a practical form, while Šenk situates it within a theoretical framework. The exhibition in České Budějovice is another result of their remarkable collaboration.
DUČB consistently represents the best domestic and world architecture. At the same time, they want to avoid simplistic schemes: drawing-model-photo. Unlike paintings and sculptures, buildings cannot be transported to a gallery. The visitor is deprived of direct experience, but can view the buildings from a different angle. This is where the concept of new perspectives is more pronounced in the Budějovice gallery. In addition to a new vestibule at the entrance, the spaces were plunged into absolute darkness to best showcase the films documenting the life of Stolín's buildings. It was not just about blackout. The windows in the gallery simply disappeared behind new walls. Similarly, all the rooms (except for the projection walls) were coated with a black matte finish to erase the physical space, allowing the viewer to be absorbed in the filmic environment capturing everyday life in Stolín's buildings. The footage was captured by the architect's nephew, Oskar Stolín, who managed to be an invisible observer and offer a sense of authenticity and spontaneity that is often lacking in architectural documents.
In one of the five rooms, personal and borrowed quotes that clarify Stolín's thoughts on architecture are projected onto the wall. In the dimly lit rooms, one can rest on cubic stools made of white foam that resemble solidified pixels and were designed for this exhibition.
Some architects come up with constantly new stimuli, which is reflected in the diversity of their work. And then there are architects like Petr Stolín, who with a bit of simplification draw the same house over and over, aligning him with the Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura, who claims to repeatedly draw the same thing, yet the results are always so different that they begin to resemble each other again. Moura draws the same house for the same person, as if the idea of the project were embedded in the material used. Similarly, the Italian modernist Aldo Rossi also did not let himself be distracted by superfluities, believing that progress in science and art relies precisely on such a kind of recurring continuity and stability, which are the only means to achieve change. Petr Stolín and Alena Mičeková reached a similar goal in their Zen Houses, where they lead a contented life.
Stolín's exhibition in České Budějovice will last until the end of the summer holidays (the closing event is expected to be related to the launch of Stolín's first monograph), after which photographer Libuše Jarcovjáková will take over, and in the autumn we can look forward to the Slovak studio GutGut.