New exhibition at Jurkovič Villa presents architect Kotěra

Brno - The Moravian Gallery in its new exhibition connects two artists who shaped modern architecture in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, while drawing from folk traditions. The main theme of the exhibition is the work of Jan Kotěra, and its venue is the Jurkovič Villa in Brno, a unique building designed by architect Dušan Jurkovič. Interested visitors are thus given the opportunity for a direct comparison of the works of both architects.
Kotěra's work is documented by drawings, photographs of buildings and their interiors, as well as previously unexhibited furniture from 1907. The exhibition is thematically divided into several sections. One section presents Kotěra's relationship with folk art, while another describes details of the relationship and work of both architects and their mutual inspiration. They knew each other, but their approaches to folk tradition and artistic craft differed.
"For the first time, the works of the two most prominent architects of the first quarter of the 20th century in our country, the founder of Czech modern architecture Jan Kotěra and the founder of modern architecture in Slovakia and creator of a distinctive architectural trend in Moravia Dušan Jurkovič, are compared here," said the exhibition's author Martina Lehmannová.
Kotěra (1871 to 1923) was born in Brno, but spent most of his life elsewhere. He studied in Vienna and Rome, and worked as an architect in Prague. He drew primarily from folk creation in his villa designs. Some of his most famous buildings include the National House in Prostějov and the museum in Hradec Králové.
Jurkovič (1868 to 1947) gained fame for buildings such as those in the Beskydy Pustevny and in the spa town of Luhačovice. Later, he mainly worked in his native Slovakia. The villa he built in 1906 in Brno-Žabovřesky is managed by the Moravian Gallery. Besides exhibition space, there is a research room and documentation center for Jurkovič's work in the building. Visitors wishing to tour the villa must register via the reservation form.
Before the upcoming tourist season, the statue of the Thinker by Jan Štursa has returned to the villa. Jurkovič purchased it in 1906 for the villa's loggia, later taking it with him to his new residence in Bratislava. Since the 1960s, the statue has been owned by the National Gallery in Prague. "It has now been possible to negotiate the permanent loan of the statue back to Jurkovič's villa," said Moravian Gallery spokesperson Martina Vašková.