The criticized sgraffito on the House of Art in Brno will not be

Brno - The House of Art in Brno will not have a sgrafitto on its renovated facade by artist Michal Blažek. This was decided today by the city councilors. The removal of the sgrafitto from the reconstruction project has already been voted on once by the city council, however, the artist managed to secure a new assessment through his protest directly on the scaffolding. He was unsuccessful, said municipal spokesperson Pavel Žára to ČTK today.
    The reasons for the decision are, according to the spokesperson, still the same. "In our opinion, this type of sgrafitto is not suitable for this functionalist building by architect Bohuslav Fuchs," he stated. The sgrafitto was also opposed by part of the expert public in Brno. For instance, according to the director of the House of Art, Rostislav Koryčánek, sgrafitto is an old technique, while the House of Art focuses on contemporary artistic creation. Koryčánek is also bothered by the reference to the medieval Christian movement Devotio moderna, which is part of the sgrafitto.
    The sgrafitto on the facade of the building was promoted, besides Blažek, by architect Petr Hrůša, who is the author of the reconstruction project. However, according to Koryčánek, such a decorative element should arise from a competition. No such competition took place. Artists on both sides also argued about the authenticity of the materials with which the city council assessed the design of the work. Supporters of the sgrafitto argued that the councilors saw outdated proposals. They also stated that if the council does not agree with the work even after a new assessment, they will abide by the decision.
    Sgraffito is the term for what is known as scratch painting. It is a method of wall ornamental and figurative decoration on the exteriors of buildings. It is created by scratching through a damp upper white layer of plaster to the lower colored layer, usually black.
    The House of Art is located on Malinovského náměstí in a originally Art Nouveau building from 1910. After World War II, it was reconstructed by architect Bohuslav Fuchs in the spirit of so-called Brno functionalism. The renovation of the building began over a year ago and is slowly nearing completion. It will cost around 60 million crowns.