Architect Oscar Niemeyer, Brasília

Oscar Niemeyer is a legend of world architecture. He was born one hundred and three years ago, on December 15, 1907, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. When he was twenty-three, he enrolled at the local fine arts academy and, after completing his studies, found work in Lúcio Costa's studio. Costa was an ardent advocate of modern movements that were quickly making their way from Europe to the South American continent. A turning point in Niemeyer's life came in 1936 when Le Corbusier visited Brazil. Niemeyer was initially the master's loyal student and collaborator but gradually became his rival. Even today, Niemeyer speaks of his great role model: “Le Corbusier had an extraordinary imagination. He was a great architect, but as a man, he was small.” In this context, it is interesting that Niemeyer emphasizes imagination as the main guide in architectural art. He developed an architecture where the formal aspect often prevails over the perspective of utility. The best evidence of this is the capital city Brasília, which is a resounding tribute to Niemeyer's artistic genius.

The exhibition is a collection of 40 photographs of buildings from the city of Brasília by Oscar Niemeyer. The photographs are by Slovenian architectural historian and photographer Damjan Prelovšek. The photographs, installed in an originally conceived exhibition, capture all the significant buildings of the century-old, still actively creating giant of world modern architecture. The exhibition was created for the National Gallery in Ljubljana and could also be seen at the National Gallery in Prague and the Museum of Architecture in Wrocław. The Ostrava exhibition is complemented by the accompanying theme Oscar Niemeyer in Czechoslovakia, which will focus on the inspiration and reception of his work in former Czechoslovakia and the accompanying exhibition Politics of Juscelino Kubitschek, Brasília – The Word of a Man.

Guided Tours
October 5. Dr. Damjan Prelovšek
October 13. Ing. arch. Iveta Černá
November 24. Mgr. Martin Strakoš
always at 5 PM at the SKLEPENÍ Gallery.

December 15. Radovan Lipus: The Longing of a Café Layabout – Brazil
Café SPOLEK, Orlí 22, 6 PM.

Previous Stops of the Travelling Exhibition