Steven Holl. Making Architecture - extension of the exhibition in Ostrava

The exhibition STEVEN HOLL: Making Architecture | OSTRAVA, which presents twelve architectural projects illustrating how architecture is created, will be extended until January 2, 2022. The exhibition project was created in collaboration with the Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava (GVUO), the statutory city of Ostrava, the Architecture Cabinet, and the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava. As part of the exhibition, a guided tour will take place today, November 18, 2021, at 5:00 PM with the co-authors of the winning design for the concert hall for the city of Ostrava, architects Martin Kropáč and Hana Petříková.


I appreciate the opportunity to extend the exhibition by nearly a month, especially during the end of the year. This allows people to become acquainted with the truly exceptional work of architect Steven Holl during the holiday season spent with loved ones. The presentation includes the design of our concert hall and the related reconstruction of the House of Culture of the city of Ostrava. The preparation for the implementation of this project is progressing by leaps and bounds, and the acoustic model of the hall is currently being completed, which we will soon also present to the public, stated Tomáš Macura, the mayor of the statutory city of Ostrava, who took patronage over the exhibition.

Steven Holl donated three watercolor sketches to the GVUO collection as a thank you for organizing the exhibition, which arrived at the gallery last week. They will be on display in the exhibition space of one work from the GVUO collection throughout the extended duration of the exhibition, noted Lukáš Curylo, Deputy Governor of the Moravian-Silesian Region for culture and heritage, who has taken patronage over the exhibitions at GVUO for the entire year.

The traveling exhibition STEVEN HOLL: Making Architecture | OSTRAVA reveals the complex and unique process of creation by American architect Steven Holl. During its European tour, the original eleven already realized projects are enriched by a twelfth project in the preparatory phase, namely the concert hall in Ostrava. The aim of the exhibition is to present the process of their creation from the initial idea through transformations over time, captured in watercolor sketches, models, and photographs from the construction. The exhibition also includes a screening of a documentary film that reveals media responses and authorial comments on already realized buildings. An example of Holl's exceptional architectural work featured in the exhibition is the Hunters Point Community Public Library in Queens, which creates a significant architectural triangle in New York City along with the buildings of Oscar Niemeyer and Louis Kahn.

The exhibition is accompanied by guided tours with architects Tadeáš Goryczka, Petr Šmídek, Martin Kropáč, and Hana Petříková, as well as architectural historian Martin Strakoš. There is also a short online guided tour with Steven Holl, which the architect recorded during his stay in Ostrava, which was primarily dedicated to working meetings regarding the concert hall project in Ostrava. All video recordings of the guided tours can be found on the GVUO YouTube channel. A virtual tour of the exhibition is also available on the gallery's website. The Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava and the Architecture Cabinet will publish a book in November on the work of Steven Holl with expert texts by Nina Stritzler-Levine, Kerry Dean Carson, Peter Olshavsky, Juhani Pallasmaa, Rostislav Švácha, Petr Šmídek, Martin Strakoš, and Adam Gebrian. It will be available for purchase at the House of Art's box office and on the GVUO e-shop.

The project is realized with the financial support of the statutory city of Ostrava and the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic. The patrons of the exhibition are Tomáš Macura, the mayor of the statutory city of Ostrava, Lubomír Zaorálek, Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic, Ivo Vondrák, Governor of the Moravian-Silesian Region, and the Embassy of the USA in Prague. The patronage over the year-round projects of GVUO has been taken by the Deputy Governor of the Moravian-Silesian Region Lukáš Curylo.
The House of Art, GVUO is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM. Admission is 40 crowns for full price and 20 crowns for reduced price. Admission is free on Sundays and for seniors.

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