The exhibition presents the work of Bohuslav Fuchs

Prague - Last year marked the 120th anniversary of the birth of the famous architect Bohuslav Fuchs (1895 to 1972), the author of many well-known functionalist buildings, which is commemorated by an exhibition at the Jaroslav Fragner Gallery. His buildings are mainly in Brno, including the Hotel Avion, Zeman's café, the post office building, and the City Baths. Architects guide visitors through Fuchs’s works, presenting the buildings from the perspectives of experts, frequent passersby, or users.

This will help audiences understand how the creators perceive Fuchs's legacy and the qualities of his work. Among them are Vladimír Šlapeta, Eva Jiřičná, Marek Štěpán, Jan Sapák, Petr Pelčák, Vlado Milunić, and Zdeněk Fránek. The commentary is supplemented by period drawing documentation, photographs from the time of creation, and illustrative photos of the current state.

The exhibition is complemented by two models of Bohuslav Fuchs's most famous works abroad, the Hotel Avion and the Brno Pavilion at the Brno Exhibition Centre. Also displayed is Fuchs's correspondence with the famous architect Le Corbusier. The exhibition will be open until July 24.

Fuchs is one of the most renowned Czech architects of the 20th century abroad. An architect, urban planner, theorist, and teacher who is inseparably linked with Brno's functionalism, he began his career studying at the Academy of Art in Prague under Jan Kotěra, in whose studio he later also worked. In 1922, Fuchs permanently settled in Brno, where he worked at the city building office from 1923. From 1938 to 1940, he was a professor at the Art School in Zlín, and from 1945 to 1958, he taught at the Brno University of Technology.

"When I hear the name Fuchs, for me, he's the 'master of the space.' This person was a genius. He masters space in the best way possible. In every corner, in every detail, I find something that points to the abilities of an outstanding architect, designer, and person," states architect Eva Jiřičná, who is one of the personalities guiding the exhibition. According to Vladimír Šlapeta, Fuchs was a groundbreaking figure in Czech architecture, and his buildings in Bohemia, Moravia, and Slovakia represent milestones throughout the First Republic that delineate the development of modern architecture here.

However, not all of Fuchs's buildings are in perfect condition. The Hotel Avion in the center of Brno is closed; its owner, a member of the circus family Stanislav Berousek, allegedly lacks funds for the restoration of this national cultural monument, which should be reconstructed according to a project by Eva Jiřičná. Zeman’s café in Brno's gardens today exists in the form of a replica built in the 1990s, and the City Baths in Zábrdovice have an uncertain fate. The heritage-protected building has been unused since the 1990s. Seven years ago, the city repaired the roof; however, reportedly, it did not have funds for larger investments. The association "Culture Against Decay" is striving for the loan and operation of the baths, even with a substitute program.