The third exhibition at Prague’s Designblok was held within the baroque Colloredo Mansfeld Palace, as part of the festival’s remit of opening interesting buildings to the public – the image above is a close-up of the huge wooden doors that marks its boundary. The exhibition was called Art House, a reference to the work inside that straddled art and design. I’m not usually a fan of so-called design art, but I really enjoyed some of the work here.
I loved Polish potter Monika Patuszynska‘s Tranforms Plus – part of the Bastard Series, which is part of a wider body of work called Bastards and Oprhans, made with the support of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland.
The pastel shades and rounded forms and French design studio Bureau de Design et d’Architecture’s collection caught my eye.
They have quite a Scandinavian sensibility.
I’d seen Tjep’s mechanical wings before – in Ventura Lambrate during Milan Design Week, but it was incredible to see them in this setting. “I’m really proud that it’s hanging up there with the angels,” said founder and lead designer Frank Tjepkema.
Tjep was also showing new work – Bronze Age, a collection of furniture made by whittling away wooden furniture and using the reduced form to make a cast, in which the final bronze pieces are created.
“I like the idea that bronze is precious and is therefore implicitly sustainable – it is either preserved or remelted, but never discarded. Who knows, maybe these pieces contain a couple of remelted ancient bronze swords,” said Tjepkema.
Sascha Mikel, Martin Schnabl, and Michael Tatschl, aka Breaded Escalope, created an installation of carved logs as part of their work “addressing issues of socioeconomic and cultural relevance concerning spaces and artefacts.”
Dutch designer Ineke Hans designed the Toadstool vases and bowls in reference to Czech cuisine and customs – and finally, lighting by Czech designer Eva Eisler hung from a tree-like installation in the centre of the room.
That’s it from Prague – watch this space for the highlights of my trips to Lodz Design Week and the Biennale Interieur in Kortrijk – and make sure you pre-order your copy of Fiera Magazine, discovering new designers at the world’s design fairs – and out at the end of this month!
Further reading for the especially geeky:
- out and about :: 100{ff546b69e23b1524d799f96c6ba7a638e1f677053b0a2a1568b05315fd5f8fc7} norway, LDF14
- out and about :: home london, LDF14
- out and about :: tent london, LDF14
- out and about :: guide to the london design festival 2014
You always have cool photos of some awesome things! I really enjoy them,