The exhibition will introduce architect Feuerstein, including his work for the theater

Prague – A wide range of works by architect Bedřich Feuerstein (1892 to 1936) will be presented in an exhibition at the National Technical Museum. It will be accessible at the museum in Prague's Letná from Wednesday and will run until May 15. The exhibition is named Bedřich Feuerstein, architect Prague-Paris-Tokyo and will showcase Feuerstein's work in architecture, scenography, theatrical costume design, as well as graphic, applied, and furniture design, along with his free artistic creations.

Visitors will see a number of paintings that are not usually exhibited, complemented by artworks from his contemporaries. Audio and video recordings will recall his work in film, Feuerstein's essay writing and lecturing activities, and collaborations with poets and musicians. Among other things, Feuerstein co-founded the architectural section of Devětsil, ARDEV, and as a painter, he aligned himself with the group Tvrdošíjní, which included Josef Čapek, Vlastislav Hofman, Václav Špála, and Jan Zrzavý. The installation was created by architect and architecture popularizer David Vávra.

Visitors can gain insight into the family background of Bedřich Feuerstein and see objects he used or purchased during his travels. Exhibition curator Helena Čapková also pays attention to Feuerstein's involvement in World War I, his time in France and Japan, and his work in theater in the 1920s when he collaborated with the National Theatre, and in the 1930s when he was associated with the Liberated Theatre.

Feuerstein was among other things one of the founders of modern Czech scenography. He was recruited for theater by the Čapek brothers. For Karel Čapek, he designed the set for the play R.U.R. in 1921. He realized designs for 22 theatrical productions for the National Theatre until his death.

He studied architecture at several schools progressively. In 1912, he enrolled with Jože Plečnik at the Prague School of Applied Arts, was also a student of technology, and ultimately attended the Academy of Fine Arts under Jan Kotěra. In 1924, he went to Paris, where he worked in the design office of architect Auguste Perret, a significant architect and pioneer of reinforced concrete structures, after whom the most prestigious international architecture award has been named since the 1960s.

In 1926, he traveled to Japan, where he realized several projects with Antonín Raymond. He also undertook work trips to the USA, China, and the Soviet Union. After returning to Bohemia, he participated in films by Vladislav Vančura and returned to scenography, particularly in the Liberated Theatre. At the age of 38, he voluntarily ended his life.

In Bohemia, he managed to realize only two buildings, even though he was part of avant-garde creative groups and brought knowledge of global architecture to the Czech scene with his international outlook. His most significant Czech building is probably the crematorium in Nymburk, one of the first purist buildings composed of elementary geometric forms. The second building in the Czech Republic is the Military Geographical Institute in Prague-Bubenč.