Pražský funkcionalismus se představuje v New Yorku

The traveling exhibition Prague Functionalism / Tradition and Contemporary Echoes has been presented over the last few years in a number of galleries in European as well as worldwide cities. After Madrid, Tel Aviv, Munich, Amsterdam, and Eindhoven, it will also be on display at the Center of Architecture in New York from February 12, 2015. The exhibition mapping Prague functionalism has been prepared by the Prague Gallery of Jaroslav Fragner in cooperation with the Czech Center in New York and the AIA New York Chapter with the support of the capital city of Prague, the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, and the Prague 6 district.

Prague Functionalism will be presented in New York for the very first time. This comprehensive exhibition, designed by Jiří Příhoda, includes photographs, sketches, models, and furniture and was prepared by curators Zdeněk Lukeš and Dan Merta with professional collaboration from Petr Kratochvíl. As part of the accompanying program for the exhibition, a series of lectures and curator-led tours are being planned. More information can be found at www.gjf.cz.

Functionalism, which impacted European architecture in the 1920s, developed most prominently in Prague, which became its center and subsequently surpassed the borders of Czechoslovakia in significance. The Prague functionalism will have its premiere at the Center of Architecture in New York, and essentially also the architecture and design of Eastern Europe in general. The fundamental idea of this exhibition is to present the golden fund from the history of Czech and Prague architecture as well as the contemporary production influenced by the functionalist archetype.

The exhibition is divided into two sections – the first part focuses on the period of the 1920s and 1930s, while the second presents contemporary projects influenced by the tradition of Czech functionalism. Visitors can expect, for example, photographs of Prague functionalist buildings, projects, as well as period furniture or design, and nine models of both functionalist and non-functionalist Prague realizations.

The exhibition will run until May of this year and is expected to be presented in Austin, Texas, in October.