The remains of the world-renowned designer Sutnar have returned to Plzeň

Plzeň - From today, the Plzeň native and world-renowned designer Ladislav Sutnar has an honorary grave at the central cemetery. The urns containing Sutnar's remains, who passed away in 1976 in New York, and those of his wife Františka were brought to their birthplace by their son Radoslav. Plzeň takes care of over forty honorary graves of notable figures associated with the city.
    Sutnar, considered one of the founders of modern global design in the post-war era, was nearly erased from Czech history by the previous regime after his departure to America in 1939. In recent years, Plzeň has been striving to bring him back into people's awareness, where he was born in 1897. There is a commemorative plaque on his birthplace, and his name is borne by a gallery and the Faculty of Design and Art at the University of West Bohemia. In October 2012, he was posthumously named an honorary citizen of the city.
    "I am very happy. There are no more Sutnars in the family who would take care of the grave in the USA. Moreover, I didn't like the cemetery in New York. This is the right place - peaceful, tranquil, beautiful. My parents are back with family, with the people they knew," said Sutnar's son to ČTK. He gratefully praised the monument that the city commissioned. "It is amazing, it is simply Sutnar. Dad was very critical, but I think he would really like this," he added.
    The monument, created by the head of the metal and jewelry studio at Sutnar's faculty, Petr Vogel, is made of a massive stone slab from which a stainless steel stela rises towards the sky featuring Sutnar's logo. "It was a huge honor and challenge; I have admired Ladislav Sutnar for many years. I wanted to do it as cleanly as possible - to stick to his design, his lines, his pure shapes and surfaces," said Vogel. The two-and-a-half-ton stone block appears to levitate just above the ground due to its placement. The stela, made of matte stainless steel in black and gray, includes Sutnar's logo and a circle as a symbol of spirituality and lightness.
    The idea to transfer Sutnar's remains came from his son Radoslav and the faculty dean Josef Mištera; the realization took about a year. The Plzeň city council had to decide on the grave, and obtaining court permission to transport the remains from the USA took half a year in New York.
    Mištera's wish is for the people of Plzeň to know Sutnar as well as they know another native, Jiří Trnka. "Sutnar will gradually fill Plzeň. Next year, there will be several exhibitions, we will build a monument; it won't be a figure, but his enlarged construction set in the city center, and books will be published," said the dean.
    Sutnar was a prestigious designer of utility items, architecture, theater, and exhibitions even in the First Czechoslovak Republic. After 1939, he remained in the USA, where he later founded modern visual communication, corporate visual style, and various forms of informational aids in industry, marketing, science promotion, and ecology.