specifications: International Trade Fair for lifestyle, decor, interior, housing and design
organizer: MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE of the Czech Republic
Cooperation: The Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague
venue: exhibition grounds PARIS NORD VILLEPINTE
Just like every year, the Czech Selection at Maison et Objet is composed of products from companies who participated in the selection proceedings organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic. In doing so, the Ministry helps the export of Czech companies who desire to succeed in the international design market, contribute to it with the creativity of local designers and specific manufacturing know-how, especially in the area of glass making and furniture manufacturing. The Czech Selection has participated in Maison et Objet four times to date in the Design Now! Pavilion. Can we trace any general characteristics of the Czech Selection 013 collection?
The times of economic recession favors rather functional and constructive approach in design. If we may generalize these topical approaches intersect with the tradition of Czech thinking in design and architecture which originates from the pre-war functionalism. In the 1930's, Czechoslovakia was one of the very few countries where functionalism mass expanded in middle class households - they accepted it and adapted to it as a progressive, democratic lifestyle. The mental inheritance of the pre-war functionalism perceived as an insuperable standard of democratic system and moral values is very strong even in the current Czech environment. It has something to do with the apriori mistrust of luxury which was also typical in the 20's and 30's. Even the first president of the independent Czechoslovakia, Masaryk, urged the rich class to moderation and he himself was a great example. The modernistic idea of a good democratic design was ruined by socialists after the war, who centrally controlled industrial production, which led to not only miserable quality of household items, but also a total market deficit.
Even after the fall of the Iron Curtain, the egalitarian understanding of design only slowly progressed to a more complex and personal view of design. The "Luxury" topic as a spawn for inspiration and creativity appeared in the Czech Republic for the very first time at the Designblok 012 Festival. In the same year, the rehabilitation of term "luxury" in the Czech environment was also aided by a thorough reconstruction of the Tugendhat Villa in Brno performed in compliance with the new archive research of the inheritance of Miese van der Rohe by the A.M.O.S. design company, a participant of Czech Selection It is interesting that in the 30's, the Czech audience ignored this important building or criticized it as amoral aestheticism. During the totality regimes of Nazism and socialism, the villa was greatly damaged and only now, the public can appreciate not only its interior space, but also the effects of precious materials in the interior which significantly contribute to the unique design of the villa.
The Czech audience is therefore slowly building up understanding to non-standard, unique and magnificent acts in design. The typical non-pompous way of "humbleness and purity" is here to stay, not lacking humor and poetry; it is characteristic also for the this year's Czech Selection. The furniture making companies stress simplicity and universality of use. That is one of the values of the street furniture of the MMCITÉ company, awarded many times. The Miela Bench represents an ideal balance between historical tradition and contemporary dynamic design. Similarly, also the newest furniture of the PROCESS cabinetmaking company updates the tradition of modernism for life today. The A.M.O.S. DESIGN company was also inspired by the reconstruction of the Flat Bar Chair Miese van der Rohe. The oldest Czech furniture company, TON, with the traditional technology of wood bending, enlarges its cooperation with Czech and foreign designers and expands its assortment of chairs worldwide. In 2012, it was awarded the prestigious Interior Innovation Award for the Tee hanger and 002 chair, designed by Czech designers Jan Padrnos and Jaroslav Juřica. The furniture maker, LUGI, presents a collection of a young and talented designer, Matěj Chabera, who invents budget-friendly solutions using logical construction and craftsman detail. Another approach in the furniture collection is presented by the DADarchitect studio of the architect Helena Dařbujánová who reacts to the need of decorative furniture pieces for women's interiors.
Also the exhibition of light fixtures excels with exemption from shape. The ATEH company, the winner of many national and international awards, presents its latest news, a flexible module of a plastic light with several variations. Two other companies specialize in glass light fixtures and use the know-how of North Bohemian glass factories. A young and fresh company, BROKIS, presents another collection from the designers Lucie Koldová and Dan Yeffet, founders of their own studio in Paris. They have already been honored with a national award for presentation of Shadow light on Prague Designblok Festival. The LASVITcompany, expanding with its grandiose lighting objects worldwide, presents a new product atypical for its standard production; subtle lighting designs by a Japanese designer, Oki Sato, the founder of the very active designer studio, Nendo, in Tokyo. The cooperation of the Lasvit company with the Nendo studio received the 2012 award for exceptional processing of qualities of the Czech glass making craft.
In Bohemia, glass making is not only a tradition, it also has many enthusiasts who deeply care about preservation of unique craftsman procedures as well as about application of new technologies of the 21st century. The VERREUM brand of the SPACE company, winner of many honorable titles, which specializes in the unique technology of silver glass, expands the pool of collaborating designers, as demonstrated by the freshly realized design by the famous designer Arik Levy, or the cooperation with Czech students from the deForm studio. The BOMMA glass factory presents a high-tech crystal collection made of Czech crystal and cut using automatic cutting technologies based on their own special know-how. With the production of the BOMMA glass factory, the worldwide recognized phenomena of Czech cut glass gets an updated fresh dimension, reflected in domestic prices for the dynamic strategy of cooperation with experienced glass designers as well as with students. While the products of brands VERREUM, BOMMA and accessories of the family jewelry company, BELDA FACTORY, show rather the path of functional and poetic simplicity of the design, the ACDT company presents as its MARIENBERGbrand unique glass pieces inspired by natural processes and using the specific technology of sand blasting.
We hope that the Czech Selection exhibition at Maison et Objet 013 will pique the interest of general and experts audience. Also, thanks to the exhibition design by OLGOJ CHORCHOJ studio which is one of the leading design studios in the Czech Republic we are able to take care of the continuity of respectable design works in Bohemia, searching for new talents and employing them in industrial production.
Iva Knobloch, Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague
