Gallery
Since its inception, THE DESIGN has established itself as a platform supporting Czech artists and designers in a broader cultural context. Each exhibition presents distinctive original projects that push the boundaries of visual language and open up space for new dialogues between creators and audiences.
With a flexible approach to curating and a focus on the progressive domestic scene, THE DESIGN is constantly evolving. It brings up-to-date perspectives on Czech art and design and creates an environment where these fields naturally intersect, reach a wide audience and become part of everyday life.
Current Exhibition
She Who Wears Many Faces
The body and face, two fundamental elements of Vika’s work, appear here in constant metamorphosis. The mask becomes a mediator of transformation: it allows us to forget our own boundaries and lets inhibitions disappear. Sculptural objects made of ceramics, paper, and combined materials tell the story of the female figure as the bearer of many roles—daughter, lover, mother, artist, storyteller. Viková does not shy away from ambivalence. The gentle poetics of her works often clash with irony and darker undertones.
The title of the exhibition refers to mythological and ritual contexts in which the face and mask become instruments of transformation. Viková reflects on this transformation on both a personal and universal level: faces become mirrors that reflect emotions, desires, and insecurities. The exhibition She Who Wears Many Faces is thus not only a retrospective look at the work of one of the most prominent Czech artists, but also a meditation on identity, femininity, and the fragility of human existence. In the space of THE DESIGN gallery, Jindra Viková’s works are transformed into an intimate scenography where collective memory meets physical presence and where each face carries its own shadow.
Past Exhibitions
Pulse of Samsara
At a time when we live in an environment overwhelmed by synthetic substances, accelerated production and alienation from original resources, these works offer an alternative rhythm. The time-consuming handmade processes the artists choose are not just a poetic gesture, but an active political decision. Through the material, they turn to fundamental questions: how do we perceive the transience of our own existence in a world that we threaten with our indifference? The soil from which we emerged can remain and regenerate itself – even without us.
The exhibition also opens up the question of how to break out of the cycle of recurring crises – ecological, social and personal. From a Buddhist perspective, samsara represents not only the cycle of life, but also attachment to unconscious action. A possible answer is bodhi – a state of awakening, recognition of context and acceptance of responsibility, which in the Christian tradition can be likened to rebirth or inner transformation, leading to awareness, turning and active acceptance of responsibility for one’s own life and the world around us. Artistic processes based on attention to material, place and time thus become not only an expression of care for the world, but also a call to transform the way we act in it. To step out of the cycle is not to abandon the world, but to begin to create it more consciously – with a respect that transcends individual experience.
Pneuma Alchemy
Paula Benčaťová works with ceramics as a carrier of ephemeral breath – her objects bear traces of gestures, automatic drawing, painting and spontaneous intervention, thus capturing not only the moment of creation, but also the symbolic journey from chaos to harmony. In her sculptures, matter becomes a record of time, emotion and tension, but also a challenge to the material itself. Each object is the result of a specific chemical process in which matter absorbs and preserves the energy of the creative act and its own identity.
David Krňanský‘s painting and object work is situated between abstraction and sign communication. He explores the limits of painting – lines from the canvas become objects – compositions work with layering, shades and geometry. Here, monotonous colour and form serve as a medium oscillating between order and free expression, between structure and impulsive gesture.
Pneuma Alchemy creates a space in which art becomes an instrument of transformation – both for the material itself and for the viewer’s perception. This transformation also reflects the broader question of the metamorphosis of identity at a time when the boundaries between stability and change, between reality and construction, are increasingly blurred. Bringing together two distinct yet resonant approaches opens up questions about the nature of matter, identity and the spiritual transcendence of creation, referencing the constant oscillation between the fixed and the mutable, the past and the future.
Floralis Temple
Jasna finds inspiration not only in nature, but also in places where flowers are losing their original value. For example, in florists, cemeteries or among seasonal leftovers such as Christmas trees. Michaela Doležalová elevated this activity to a year round mission. It connects the cycle of nature with the recycling process and gives new life to what would otherwise be forgotten.
However, Michaela considers herself a collector of a new kind. She ventures into suburban areas and carefully picks discarded or unwanted flowers. Such as leftovers from florists, seasonal waste (such as Christmas trees) or flowers left in cemeteries.
This approach is deeply meaningful in today’s consumer society, which is constantly in pursuit of new products and technologies. By collecting and recycling natural materials. Michaela shows that we can live creatively, sustainably and in harmony with what nature has to offer. Her work invites us to stop and think about how much wealth is hidden in what is often considered unnecessary or overlooked.
The series of lampshades, incorporating seasonal floral motifs, are produced in limited editions (15-30 pieces) and bring the subtle beauty of nature into interiors. The DIY collections in turn encourage viewers to get creative on their own. Each set includes graph paper with stamped grooves for easy folding and the option to decorate it to your own taste.
The exhibition also showcases the innovative approach of Jasny Studio, which focuses on the development of 3D printed tools for the production of handmade paper. This project combines traditional crafts with modern technology and shows how innovation can contribute to sustainable design.
Jasna’s work is not only about lighting design, but also about honouring nature, creativity and the ability to find beauty where many overlook it.
In the Middle of Now-Where
THE DESIGN Gallery is excited to announce an exhibition of Manuel Bonfanti, one of the most distinctive Italian artists of today. Known for his large-scale paintings and his ability to capture space and light. He brings to Prague his new collection that explores the boundaries between the visible and invisible worlds.
Strongly influenced by his studies at the Brera Academy under Maurizio Fabre, Bonfanti’s work is more than just painting on canvas. As Bonfanti himself says: “When I paint, I am not human”. His approach to art is driven by the technical knowledge of masters such as Tiziano and Tiepolo, as well as the influence of modern icons such as Pollock, Richter and Sigmar Polke, who shaped his style during his studies in Milan.
Bonfanti considers painting not just a visual experience, but a physical act. He exercises daily and this physicality is reflected in his painting. As he describes it, it is an “action painting” in which he uses his whole body, like Jackson Pollock, moving the brush with his whole hand, which creates dynamism and energy in his works. This way of working is also inspired by the pulsating light of Caravaggio’s paintings.
Bonfanti’s monumental canvases reflect today’s need to escape the constant data deluge of screens and the digital world. “Big canvases are important today. We watch them instead of screens that pollute our perception of reality”. His works reconnect us with the poetry of space and corporeality. The immersive quality of these canvases opens up an intellectual, physical and spiritual dimension where the viewer engages in a personal dialogue with the work.
The exhibition, which will open at THE DESIGN gallery in Prague, offers a unique experience for anyone who wants to be carried away by this intense connection between art, space and physical experience.
Prague Art Week 24
Adam Vačkář conceptually crosses the boundaries of visual art, biology, ecological thinking and biosocial themes. He explores how relationships between humans and non-native plants influence politics, society and spirituality, while finding parallels with human migration.
His work explores the Bolshevik magnificent, examining issues from both human and non-human perspectives. His earlier work focuses on identities in Central and Eastern Europe.
Jiří Krejčiřík is a product and interior designer who reinterprets European cultural heritage through a contemporary lens. His work includes furniture, lighting and glass art objects that connect the past and present through his unique visual language. All products are handmade in the Czech Republic, in limited editions, and exhibited in carefully selected galleries and design showrooms in Europe, Australia and the USA.
Sára Drobíková is a designer who works with space and physical materials. She experiments with traditional craft practices and explores the limits of machine and technology. She is always looking for an ecological and human footprint in her work.
Kristýna Mikolášková and Tereza Drobná studied together at the Czech Technical University in Prague. Kristýna then continued her studies at UMPRUM in the K.O.V. studio under the guidance of Prof. Eva Eisler, while Tereza started working as a designer for Preciosa Lighting. Since 2021 they have been a design duo Mikolášková&Drobná. Their first collection, Scene Collection, presented at Designblok 2021, earned them a nomination for the Designblok Awards in the Best Installation category. They were also included among the young talents in the Erste Premier Talent Display and won the Best Installation award at Czech Design Week 2021. They were also finalists in the Czech Grand Design 2021 in the Discovery of the Year category.
Fire Walk With Me
What they have in common is the natural element of fire, which gives rise to their unique works.
The authors of the exhibition Fire Walk With Me are:
Slow Panache of Solitude
All three artists work at the intersection of art and design and have a distinctive style that comments on the contemporary world.
The authors of the exhibition Slow Panache of Solitude are:
Jiří Krejčiřík
Alexandr Martsynyuk
Tomáš Kurečka
On Chair – Balancing on the Edge of Comfort
The main motif of the exhibition is the presentation of the author’s design chairs and armchairs, which visitors can sit on (use) during the exhibition and test their function and aesthetics directly in the interior of the gallery.
Among the exhibits on display you can find a chair by Jan Plecháč, Eva Eisler, Filip Kramply, David Šesták or Kristýna Mikolášková. THE DESIGN is a space that aims to exhibit contemporary and applied art side by side in one place. The exhibition will therefore also include sculptures by Michal Janiga and textile works by Lucie Kralík Rosická.
On Chair – Balancing on the Edge of Comfort
Eva Eisler
Jan Plecháč
David Šesták
Palma de Alma
Michal Janiga
Anton Jablonskij
Lexová & Smetana
David Čáp
Lucie Králík Rosická
Marek Šilpoch
Kristýna Mikolášková
LLEV
Ondřej Čižmář
Monotropa
Space of Space
Dve
Would You Still Love Me If I Were a Worm?
Each of the artists works in different mediums, such as photography, sculpture, object or painting. However, they share an interest in similar themes inspired by female mythological creatures or the contemporary position of women in art. We deliberately focused the opening on International Women’s Day as a celebration of female gentleness and strength. Exhibition Would You Still Love Me If I Were a Worm? is an effort to bring the unique and inspiring perspectives of each artist into a common thematic space.
The Abstract & Reality
The selection of works displays abstract drawings and paintings by Barbora Lepší and Tomáš Absolon, and is combined with experimental photographs by Lenka Glisníková.
In a single place, you have the opportunity to view a combination of contemporary Czech design and art by Tadeáš Podracký.
Metahumans by Michal Pustějovský and Romana Drdová is displayed in the shop window, and reacts to passers-by. These works are holographic projections of artificially created beings with pre-determined emotions.
