Špilberk attracts visitors to exhibitions on architecture

František Lýdie Gahura (1891–1958)

Brno - The Museum of the City of Brno at Špilberk Castle is inviting visitors to two new exhibitions on architecture and housing. On Thursday, the halls featuring exhibitions about the leading architect of interwar Zlín, František Gahura, and the first republic furniture designer, Jan Vaněk, will open for the first time to the public. Both exhibitions will be held at the castle throughout the summer and will end in September, said Michaela Budíková from the museum's promotions to ČTK.
    Gahura, who lived from 1891 to 1958, was, according to the curators, the most prominent figure in Zlín architecture of his time. He closely collaborated with Tomáš Baťa. In his role as the first city architect, he participated in the ambitious urban planning concept of newly built districts.
    The exhibition titled Projects, Realizations, and Sculptural Works was originally created for the Regional Gallery of Fine Arts in Zlín. The Museum of the City of Brno manages part of Gahura's estate, and the Špilberk presentation of the exhibition differs somewhat from the premiere. Visitors will find photos, plans, architectural designs, and previously unknown Gahura sculptures, paintings, and drawings in the western wing of the castle.
    A new feature of the Brno exhibition is a showcase of Gahura's original, now dispersed collection of artworks by prominent Czech artists. The architect owned works by Emil Filla, Antonín Procházka, František Foltýn, and Jaroslav Král, for example. The curators borrowed the paintings from both state and private collections.
    The second exhibition presents Jan Vaněk - an architect, theorist, publicist, and educator, who lived from 1891 to 1962. He had a significant influence on the concept of modern housing during the Czechoslovak First Republic. He mainly worked in Moravia. The exhibition includes visual and textual documentation as well as examples of furniture.