January 15 - 21,2003

Komunikacni prostor Linhartovy nadace (Gallery of the Linhart Foundation)-Petr Vanecek Ends Feb. 5. Skolska 28, Prague l-New Town. Open Mon.-Fri. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Leica Gallery Prague-Farewell Gift Photographs of President Vaclav Havel, both official and unofficial, from the 1960s.to the present by Josef Koudelka, Dagmar Hochova, Karel Cudlin, Jiff Jiru, Bohdan Holomicek and others. Ends Feb. 2. Nejvyssi purkrabstvi (Burgrave's Palace) at Prague Castle. Open daily 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Letohradek PortheimkaFrantisek Kavan (18661941) Landscape paintings. Ends Feb. 16. Steffmikova 12, Prague 5-Smichov. Open Tues.-Sun. 10-a.m.-12:30 p.m., 1:15-6 p.m. Museum Kampa-Emilie Benes Brzezinski: Dialogue With Wood Sculptures. Ends March 31. Prague Under Water, New York Under Ashes.An exhibitioncurated by Meda Mladkova, the founder of the museum, which was devastated by the August flood. Ends March 31. U Sovovych mlyniJ 2, Prague i-Kampa Island. Open Fri .. -Mon. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. National Gallery at Palac Kinskych- the Cieszyn Madonna This exhibition presents a statue of Madonna and Child dating from the 1360s, which was discovered not long ago in Cieszyn, Poland, lust across the border from Cesky Tesin. Ends May 25. Staromestske nam. 12, Prague 1-01d Town. Open Tues.-Sun. 10 a,m.-6 p.m. Novomestska radnice (New Town Hall)-And I Still See Their Faces Photographs of Polish Jews. Ends Feb. 2. Karlovo nam. 23 (entrance at Vodickova 3), Prague 2-New Town, Open Tues.-Sun. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Obecni dilm~Antonin Prochazka (1882-1945) A retrospective of this Czech modernist and founding member of the art group Osma. Ends March 2. Nam. Republiky 5, Prague 1-01d Town. Open daily 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Obecni galerie besedaRosemaria Benini: Like Old Maps Ends Feb. 16. Malostranske nam. 21, Prague l-Mala Strana. Open Tues.-Sun. 1-6 p.m. Old Town Hall (Staromestska radnice )-Five-HundredYear Flood = 2002 Photographs and documentation about the August floods. Ends Feb. 28. Sal architektiJ (located on the fourth floor of Staromestska radnice), Staromestske nam. 1, Prague 1. Open Mon. 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Tues.-Sun. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Oskar Kokoschka GalerieSomething Unpronounceable An exhibition of photographs . by Vladimir Birgus. Ends Feb. 16. Austrian Cultural Institute, Jungmannovo nam. 18, Prague 1. Open Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Prague Castle-Czech Puppetry On display are marionettes from the mid-19th century onward. Ends Feb. 23. Cisafska konirna (Imperial Stable). Open Tues.-Sun. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Umeleckoprumyslove muzeum v Praze (Museum of Decorative Arts)-Danner Prize 02:

I GALLERIES I 821

Uncompromising forms
Design plus craftsmanship gives stunning results
By
PAUL WILSON FOR THE POST

In 1880 William Morris, the founder of the British Arts and Crafts Movement in interior design, wrote: "Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be. useful or believe to be beautiful." In this exhibition of some of the 52 finalists from last year's Munich-based Danner Prize in industrial design, a banner proclaims that "The utility aspect of objects is frequently overlooked." But the pronounced leaning toward pure aesthetics rather than utility is clear. This is not to the detriment of the exhibition, as many of the pieces are beautifully and meticulously conceived. But to understand the "utility aspect" of these largely nonuser-friendly works in glass, ceramic,textile, wood and metal, one would have.to draw an analogy with haute coue ture. Couturiers don't "_~~"> COURTESY ART expect the public to wear~!1t1 follows functio~O'f1f'ie'ljanner-Prize works. their creationsin: the'. undiluted form in which they present them on the catwalks. Rather, they communicate ideas and suggestions that we later find watered down in ready-to-wear form in local designer outlets. So it is with these objects, echoes of which will doubtless appear in home-furnishing stores over the next few years. For now, the uncompromising forms in this exhibition can be divided into the natural and the industrial. The bowls, dishes; vases and utensils born of the natural or organic approach closely follow a further tenet of the Danner Prize: loyalty to material. Many of the natural works in iron, silver, gold and stone appear to have sprung from the Earth. llke Juenger's irregularly shaped gold and silver brooches are like ingots that have been trodden on by some leviathan creature. Jochen Rueth's Rocks seem frozen in transmutaat Museum of tion from roc~ to vase., while Andrea Platten's Vessels are like huge Decorative Arts Polynesian fruits. (UMPRUM)Ends The industrial pieces stand out in total contrasLand follow a fur- Feb. 2. Ulice 17. ther tenet of the Danner Prize in espousing craftsmanship. Thomas Iistopadu 2, Prague Kammerl's bowls, rendered in galvanized gold and silver, are huge, 1-0ld Town. Open monolithic objects that silently brood within their cases. Berthold Tues.-Sun. 10 a.m. Hoffmann's iron-alloy Fondue Set looks as if it emanated from a . -6 p.m. shipyard. Viewers leaving this exhibition will be satisfied that the Danner finalists have followed both the credo of craftsmanship and of loyalty to material; with hopes that utility will develop through further interpretation.

one of the best-known Czechborn photographers. A smaller show of works by Koudelka is currently at the French institute. Ends Feb. 23. Split Points Contemporary art from Dresden, Germany. Ends Feb. 23, Dukelskych hrdiniJ 47, Prague 7-Holesovice. Open Tues.-Sun. 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

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