Czech News Daily

According to Czech Artist David Černy it will be decided by the end of the week what will happen to his controversial plastic sculpture Entropa at the end of the current EU Presidency. Most likely it will end up in the recently opened Dox gallery in Holešovice.

There’s been all kinds of speculation about what will happen to the piece, including at one point interest from the National Theatre. ‘By the end of the week it will be clear what will happen. Right now we’re choosing between one of two places where the sculpture could be. There’s two possibilities, we’re in negotiation with two art institutions - Karlin Hall, and Dox, but it looks more likely to be Dox’, explained David Černý in an interview for Lidové noviny.

Does David Černy have any other surprises in store?

It’s not just about what will happen to the placement of the plastic sculpture after the end of the EU Presidency however, there’s also ongoing speculation about whether Černy will leave the work as it is. During a recent public debate about the Entropa sculpture in Brussels David Černy and another theorist from his team Tomáš Pospiszyl, fielded a question about whether the pipe-like sounds emanating from Ireland were chosen carefully or just by accident.

The inquirer turned out to be Irish and added: ‘My friends are into folk music and they told me that it’s a mix of Welsh and Scottish music. So it’s really British and not Irish. Was that your intention?’ Černy and Pospiszyl smiled at each other for a while before they came up with an answer. ‘Look, the work’s been hanging here six weeks and will hang until the end of July. Let it be, and you’ll see’, said Černy.

Tomáš Pospiszyl added: ‘Everything has it’s time. It’s possible that you’ll see Entropa differently in July to the way in which you see it now. It hasn’t had it’s last word yet.’ Whether Entropa is actually going to undergo some kind of transformation or whether this was just an obtuse answer no-one really knows. David Černý yesterday refused to comment. ‘It’s still open at the moment. We’ll have to wait and see’, he responded to a question on whether Entropa will actually change.

Seven Czech Designers carried away crystal balls from Stavovské Divadlo last night, the prize awarded for this years Academy of Design winners in categories including Graphic, Product and Fashion Design. As well as naming the winners of the seven categories the academy also announced who would follow Stanislav Lachman a René Roubíček into the design ‘Hall of Fame’. It was Jan Kaplický.

The price was accepted on behalf of the recently departed architect by his widow Eliška Kaplicky from singer Marta Kubišová. ‘I’m happy to accept the award from Marta Kubišová because I agree with her words: Truth and love triumph over lies and hatred. That’s why I’m here and that’s why I accept this award, thank you’, said Eliška Kaplicky.

The trophies for the Academy of Design’s third annual Czech Grand Design awards were designed by Zuzana Lednick from Studio Najbrt, winners of the overall prize last year. The holder of the overall prize Grand Designer of the Year became this year Jan Čtvrtník. The overall prize goes to the winner which gets the most votes from any of the seven categories. Čtvrtník won Designer of the Year and therefore wins the right to design next year’s trophy. He was nominated for his vase Droog Aalto, a furniture collection and his vases for Moser.

Clothing designer of the year 2008 is Monika Drápalová for her collection Blue (Cache-Cache). The title of Graphic Designer of the Year went to Robert V. Novák for the design of the book Brussels Dream which accompanied an exhibition by the same name, and for a Trappist psalm book. Štěpánka Stein became Photographer of the Year 2008 for a collection of photographs for Design Guide 2009, the Jablonex 2008 catalogue and the exhibition Little Hanoi dealing with the Vietnamese community in Prague. It’s the second time she has been recognised with an award.

From the 13 nominees in the Shop of the Year category the winner was Qubus, part of the newly opened Centre for Contemporary Art complex, Dox in Holešovice.

Manufacturer of the Year became the company Lucis for a collection of lamps Helium, Neon, Argon, Antimon by designer René Šulc.

The prize for Newcomer of the Year and Kč 50 000 went to Vladimír Žák for his masters work at the School of Applied Art - armchair and couch Kubikula which draws on influences of Czech Cubism, Therapia chairs for Prowork and design for the armchair Ušák.

The ceremony which was hosted by actor and musician Roman Zach will be screened on Czech Television on the 27th March. Scene design for this event as in previous years was by studio Olgoj Chorchoj.

The Grand Design awards are organised by Profil Media which has also run Designblok in Prague for many years. Prizes are decided by the academy which consists of over 50 members from a range of backgrounds such as curating, theory, and design journalism. This year for the first time the panel also includes international experts. The awards are accompanied by an exhibition from 23rd March until 13th April at the Museum of Applied Art in Prague (naměstí Jana Palacha) after which it will move to Brno.