Hasta La Ideas

The Czech design competition revamps its approach in an anniversary year

by Adam Štěch

In its 25th edition, the Biennial of Graphic Design in Brno, Czech Republic, takes a radical turn in its new organizational team, exhibition concept, and a more curated approach to the selection of artworks and accompanying exhibitions.

The Biennial of Graphic Design in Brno is one of the oldest events of its kind in the world. Biennials of art, sculpture, architecture or product design aren’t new, but few know that this particular exhibition has hosted some of the best international graphic designers for more than 50 years. Traditionally organized by the Moravian Gallery in Brno, the biennal is comprised of its main competition exhibition and accompanying shows, presenting old masters as well as new experimental work from burgeoning talents.

This year, the gallery asked
Adam Macháček,
Radim Pešk, and
Tomáš Celizna, acclaimed Czech graphic designers living in the US and the Netherlands, to be part of the organizational and curatorial committees. All three designers work mainly in experimental graphic design and typography—as well as education—and have proposed a new, “more curated” concept for the exhibition. In the past, material selected from hundreds of international designers dictated the content of the main competition.

For the 25th anniversary the curators asked designers to participate in the biennial for a smaller, more compact collection of work, with the main competition exhibit focusing primarily on younger and non-commercial trends in contemporary graphic design. The main prize was awarded to the Mevis & Van Deursen studio for its visual style in the
Stedelijk Temporary Museum in Amsterdam. Other prizes were awarded to
Manuel Raeder,
Linked by Air and the Czech graphic design master Zdeněk Ziegler, who received the prize for Outstanding Contribution to Graphic Design. The international jury included Andrew Blauvelt,
Zak Kyes,
Robert V. Novák and
Sulki & Min Choi.

The main exhibit contains work by Swiss, Dutch, American, Czech and Japanese designers, while the accompanying shows include
“Two or Three Things I know about Provo ” by Dutch designers Experimental Jetset, “Work from California” showcasing contemporary graphic design from the Sunshine state, “Květa Pacovská – Ad Infinitum” celebrating the work of the legendary illustrator, and
Khhhhhhh by the Slavs and Tatars studio.

Accompanying the main exhibit is an installation created in collaboration with designers Jerry Koza and Anička Kozová of
Atelier SAD. They used raw wooden materials originally designed for producing chairs in the
Ton factory where the wood had to be dried for long periods of time to attain the perfect malleability to craft a chair. Thus, the installation pieces are currently drying in the gallery in geometric frames to support posters, books and other exhibits. After the exhibition, the pieces will return to fulfill their purpose in the production of chairs at the factory once again.

The visual style of the exhibition is the work of graphic designers
Adéla Svobodová, Tereza Hejmová and Pauline Kerleroux. The pictures for the catalogue were shot by artist and photographer
Jiří Thýn.

The 25th Biennial of Graphic Design Brno will be open until 28 October 2012 at the Moravian Gallery, Brno, Czech Republic.

Communist-era woodturning from a master Czech craftsman

by Adam Štěch

American artists like J. B. Blunk, Wendell Castle and Jack Rogers Hopkins are established heavyweights in the world of design and certainly represent the “haute couture” style of woodworking, but Czech master craftsman and turner Antonín Hepnar continues to work in relative anonymity behind the former Iron Curtain from his studio in the small village of Čakovičky near Prague.

Working in the art of woodturning since the 1950s, Hepnar is a unique creative mind in a local design scene traditionally associated with glass and porcelain. According to the artist and designer, wood is the most important material in our lives. “Man is born into the wooden cradle, sits on the wooden chair his whole life, and dies into the wooden coffin,” says Hepnar.

Thanks to his philosophy and love for wood, Hepnar has created various turned objects throughout his career. His vases, bowls, candlesticks and lamps, as well as large sculptural objects or realizations for architecture and interiors have been produced exclusively on the spinning axis of the lathe, a primitive and genial machine with seemingly never-ending possibilities.

Hepnar was a very productive artist during the former Communist era through the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, making functional and decorative home accessories for the only Czech design gallery at the time—Dílo. Inspired by Baroque, modernism and folk art, his objects represented traditional craft with a modern edge. He sold well—and very quickly—due to the lack of quality aesthetic objects available at the time.

After a series of exhibitions devoted to Hepnar in Prague, his work has become well-known and now, the master craftsman is at work once again. Next to his own re-issued editions of popular products, such as his lovely 1950s Amanita lamp, or the striking abstract owl decorative sculpture from 1983, he continues to discover new possibilities in the world of woodmaking. His latest “Bosáž” series of bowls made of very thin turned wood and deformed by steam is a handcrafted gem.

Antonín Hepnar sells his work in the Prague-based DOX by Qubus concept store.

Images courtesy of Jaroslav Moravec, Matěj Činčera, Antonín Hepnar archive and the Phillips de Pury Archive.