Section Archive Arts
Sklo-Sklu-Sklem on view at Villa Becher Interactive Gallery
The first show of the season opened last Friday at the Villa Becher
Interactive Gallery in Karlovy Vary: called Sklo-Sklu-Sklem/Glas-Glaser-Am
Glasersten the new exhibition is a first foray by a number of Czech and
German colleagues (painters, photographers, filmmakers and designers) in
working in glass. More
Dance music diva Jitka Charvátová (aka. Ji)
Anyone familiar with the Czech electronic and dance music scene will have
come across the work of Jitka Charvátová, also known as Ji, the
charismatic and talented former singer for cutting edge groups like Skyline
and the late Milan Hlavsa’s 1990s band Fiction. Now Jitka has reset her
career with a recently released but already highly-lauded new solo album
called Feed My Lion, featuring 8-bit, electro pop and elements of hip hop. More
‘Adolf Loos – A Private Portrait’ offers readers a unique glimpse into the life of the modernist architect
In today’s Arts I talk to artist and editor Carrie Paterson about the
first English-language edition of a rare and fascinating book originally
published in 1936. Written by the third wife of modernist architect Adolf
Loos, Claire Beck Loos (Klára Becková-Loosová of Plzeň) it was
previously available only in German; the new edition, published by
Doppelhouse Press, is called Adolf Loos – A Private Portrait. More
Josef Škvorecký – Part 2 – ’68 Publishers and writing in Canada
In this week’s Arts enjoy Part 2 of our look at the life and work of
renowned author Josef Škvorecký, who died at the age of 87 earlier this
month. I continue my discussion with respected Czech critic, translator,
and specialist in Czech studies Petr Onufer, who talks about how Miloš
Forman almost made a film version of The Cowards, Škvorecký’s style as
an author and his role as co-founder of ‘68 Publishers. More
Josef Škvorecký – Part 1 – The Cowards
In this week’s Arts we will be looking back at the remarkable life and
work of renowned writer, essayist and translator Josef Škvorecký who died
earlier this month at the age of 87. The author of novels such as The
Engineer of Human Souls was one of the most important in Czech 20th century
literature, first making his mark in 1958 with The Cowards. To discuss that
book and much, much more in the first of a two-part programme, I met with
respected Czech critic, translator, specialist in Czech studies and
Revolver Revue contributor Petr Onufer. In Part 1, we look largely
Škvorecký’s debut, The Cowards. More
Artist, mother and teacher – the three lives of painter Tereza Límanová
Born and raised in Prague, Tereza Límanová captures the city in an
unusual way in her paintings. She paints mostly landscapes, but in an
abstract and reduced style that may well stem from what she describes as an
almost obsessive fear of kitsch. Her latest exhibition “From Colors to
Whiteness: From Jinonice to Košíře” is currently on display at Prague
5’s town hall gallery and closes Friday. It focuses on the unusual sights
and landscapes of Prague 5, a mostly residential neighborhood far from the
golden steeples that most visitors of the Czech capital come to see. During
a recent interview at the gallery, Tereza explained how she discovered her
love of painting as a child already. More
How the Velvet Revolution overturned the literary landscape
Writers were at the forefront of the Velvet Revolution. But when the dust
settled on the political changes they found a fast changing publishing
revolution underway that left some of them sidelined. We look at the
changes in the publishing and literary world over the last two decades. More
Jazz legend Emil Viklický
It has been a good year for Czech jazz legend Emil Viklický, beginning
with a Presidential Medal of Merit and ending with the release of two new
albums, one in Germany called “Spring Awakening” and another in Japan,
where he plays regularly, called Kafka on the Shore, a Tribute to Haruki
Murakami. In the first part of a wide-ranging interview with the pianist we
began by talking about his English, which he told me he originally picked
up from his black fellow musicians in the 1970… More
Reflections of modern Czech history in Simon Mawer’s ‘The Glass Room’
A Czech architectural landmark has provided the backdrop, and indeed
central theme, for a book which has been creating a stir in the literary
world. The Glass Room by Simon Mawer tells the story of a modernist villa
in a Czech town, from conception to construction, eventually to seizure by
the state. The Glass Room has been receiving a great deal of publicity ever
since it was nominated for the prestigious Man Booker Prize. Over the phone
from his home in Italy, author Simon Mawer voiced his bewilderment as to
why his book was proving so popular in Britain at the moment: More
Debuting director Miroslav Ondruš on his new psychological thriller Vendeta
In this week’s Arts my guest is a new film director Miroslav Ondruš
whose debut feature film Vendeta is now in Czech cinemas. The film, as the
name suggests, is a psychological thriller with revenge at its dark heart.
It stars an intense Ondřej Vetchý as a father who loses a loved one and
is already being described as one of his finest performances. More
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