Vlastislav Hofman and the Czech Cubist Avant-Garde in Ostrava
Vlastislav Hofman (1884–1964)
A Tribute to Invention
27. 9. 2017 – 7. 1. 2018, exhibition opening on 26. 9. 2017 at 5 PM
House of Art, Jurečkova 9, Ostrava
Gold medal for scenography at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in 1925 in Paris. Is it possible to summarize the abilities of the versatilely talented artist Vlastislav Hofman more simply? Hofman was primarily an architect, but his relationship with avant-garde movements overlapped in his painting, graphic art, scenography, and design. The exhibition at the Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava, created in collaboration with the Institute of Art History, will present him in all his breadth, and will not overlook the only cubo-expressionist crematorium in Czechoslovakia, which Hofman designed and realized together with František Mencl in Moravská Ostrava from 1923 to 1925.
On Tuesday, September 26, at 5 PM, the exhibition Vlastislav Hofman (1884–1964) A Tribute to Invention will be ceremonially opened at the Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava (GVUO). The exhibition throughout the entire gallery building focuses on all aspects of the artist's work, with more than two hundred exhibits on display. The exhibition will be inaugurated by curator Mahulena Nešlehová, and the opening will be introduced by the director of GVUO Jiří Jůza. It will be available at the House of Art until January 7, 2018.
“After thirteen years, I return to the work of a prominent figure in Czech modern art, architect, painter, and designer Vlastislav Hofman,” says Mahulena Nešlehová, the curator of the exhibition, and continues: “The Ostrava exhibition, which follows the artist's retrospective from 2004, primarily focuses on the Ostrava background. The central theme has become the story of the local crematorium, which was the only cubo-expressionist building of its kind in our country during its existence until 1979.”
The curator has divided the exhibition into four thematic sections. Each represents one of Hofman's key skills, in the fields of architecture, urbanism, design and applied art, painting, graphic art, and scenography. In all halls of the Ostrava House of Art, visitors will be able to discover imaginative works by Vlastislav Hofman, where the artistic and creative aspects intertwine with the practical. Architectural designs and the artist's visions, paintings, graphics, applied art, and documentary materials from archives will be represented.
The exhibition will present many well-known works by Hofman, such as the painting Children from 1920 or the watercolor by Bohumil Kubišta from 1918. However, several decorative art pieces will have their exhibition premiere, such as a cubist cemetery lamp (1913–1914), an inkwell (around 1920), or a table from a men's room set (1910–1911), as well as a number of matrices for graphic prints, pastels of God’s Cross (1928) and the Jizera Mountains from Harrachov (1934), and especially scenic designs from private collections.
Crematorium in Moravská Ostrava
“For the very first time, the documentation of the construction, operation, and demolition of the crematorium in Moravská Ostrava is exhibited, which still evokes emotional responses from professionals and witnesses alike. Architects are still interested in its exact form, as only a few archival photographs have survived with private collectors, in the Archival Office of the City of Ostrava and in the Ostrava Museum,” adds Petr Gába, co-curator of the exhibition, and continues: “The existence of the crematorium and its trace in the Ostrava region was stronger than political oppression. We managed to create a short document from photographs and contemporary records that captures the story of the crematorium across time.”
Organizer: Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava and the Institute of Art History of the Czech Academy of Sciences
Curator: Mahulena Nešlehová
Co-curators: Petr Gába, Věra Velemanová
Collaborating experts: Markéta Svobodová, Lucie Vlčková
Architectural solution: Tomáš Svoboda
Graphic design: Robert V. Novák and Zuzana Burgrová
The exhibition is under the patronage of the Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic Daniel Herman, the Governor of the Moravian-Silesian Region Ivo Vondrák, and the Mayor of the Statutory City of Ostrava Tomáš Macura.
The project is carried out with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.
More information >
A Tribute to Invention
27. 9. 2017 – 7. 1. 2018, exhibition opening on 26. 9. 2017 at 5 PM
House of Art, Jurečkova 9, Ostrava
Gold medal for scenography at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in 1925 in Paris. Is it possible to summarize the abilities of the versatilely talented artist Vlastislav Hofman more simply? Hofman was primarily an architect, but his relationship with avant-garde movements overlapped in his painting, graphic art, scenography, and design. The exhibition at the Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava, created in collaboration with the Institute of Art History, will present him in all his breadth, and will not overlook the only cubo-expressionist crematorium in Czechoslovakia, which Hofman designed and realized together with František Mencl in Moravská Ostrava from 1923 to 1925.
On Tuesday, September 26, at 5 PM, the exhibition Vlastislav Hofman (1884–1964) A Tribute to Invention will be ceremonially opened at the Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava (GVUO). The exhibition throughout the entire gallery building focuses on all aspects of the artist's work, with more than two hundred exhibits on display. The exhibition will be inaugurated by curator Mahulena Nešlehová, and the opening will be introduced by the director of GVUO Jiří Jůza. It will be available at the House of Art until January 7, 2018.
“After thirteen years, I return to the work of a prominent figure in Czech modern art, architect, painter, and designer Vlastislav Hofman,” says Mahulena Nešlehová, the curator of the exhibition, and continues: “The Ostrava exhibition, which follows the artist's retrospective from 2004, primarily focuses on the Ostrava background. The central theme has become the story of the local crematorium, which was the only cubo-expressionist building of its kind in our country during its existence until 1979.”
The curator has divided the exhibition into four thematic sections. Each represents one of Hofman's key skills, in the fields of architecture, urbanism, design and applied art, painting, graphic art, and scenography. In all halls of the Ostrava House of Art, visitors will be able to discover imaginative works by Vlastislav Hofman, where the artistic and creative aspects intertwine with the practical. Architectural designs and the artist's visions, paintings, graphics, applied art, and documentary materials from archives will be represented.
The exhibition will present many well-known works by Hofman, such as the painting Children from 1920 or the watercolor by Bohumil Kubišta from 1918. However, several decorative art pieces will have their exhibition premiere, such as a cubist cemetery lamp (1913–1914), an inkwell (around 1920), or a table from a men's room set (1910–1911), as well as a number of matrices for graphic prints, pastels of God’s Cross (1928) and the Jizera Mountains from Harrachov (1934), and especially scenic designs from private collections.
Crematorium in Moravská Ostrava
“For the very first time, the documentation of the construction, operation, and demolition of the crematorium in Moravská Ostrava is exhibited, which still evokes emotional responses from professionals and witnesses alike. Architects are still interested in its exact form, as only a few archival photographs have survived with private collectors, in the Archival Office of the City of Ostrava and in the Ostrava Museum,” adds Petr Gába, co-curator of the exhibition, and continues: “The existence of the crematorium and its trace in the Ostrava region was stronger than political oppression. We managed to create a short document from photographs and contemporary records that captures the story of the crematorium across time.”
Organizer: Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava and the Institute of Art History of the Czech Academy of Sciences
Curator: Mahulena Nešlehová
Co-curators: Petr Gába, Věra Velemanová
Collaborating experts: Markéta Svobodová, Lucie Vlčková
Architectural solution: Tomáš Svoboda
Graphic design: Robert V. Novák and Zuzana Burgrová
The exhibition is under the patronage of the Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic Daniel Herman, the Governor of the Moravian-Silesian Region Ivo Vondrák, and the Mayor of the Statutory City of Ostrava Tomáš Macura.
The project is carried out with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.
More information >
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