OCH! Olgoj Chorchoj: Logic of Emotion - Invitation to the Vernissage
Olgoj Chorchoj and their timeless design in the Moravian Gallery
The Museum of Applied Arts of the Moravian Gallery continues its presentation of contemporary design. “Year of Design” will conclude with a retrospective exhibition of the renowned studio Olgoj Chorchoj, which has connected the duo of designers and architects Michal Froňek and Jan Němeček for more than twenty-five years. The current production of Olgoj Chorchoj represents technically and aesthetically high-quality Czech design that boldly competes in a globalized market. The exhibition will be a comprehensive presentation of their activity from the early 1990s to the present, covering the full spectrum – from product design to architecture.
OCH! Olgoj Chorchoj: The Logic of Emotion
Exhibition curators: Lada Hubatová-Vacková, Rostislav Koryčánek
Museum of Applied Arts (Main Exhibition Space)
Husova 14 9. 12. 2016 – 16. 4. 2017
Michal Froněk (*1966) and Jan Němeček (*1963) founded the studio Olgoj Chorchoj in 1990. At that time, they were young students of the famous designer Bořek Šípek, who began teaching at the AAAD in Prague after the Velvet Revolution. Šípek’s fascination with emotional, unrestrained postmodernism linked to historical decorative styles and craft traditions literally "opened the world" for students. However, around the mid-nineties, the duo Olgoj Chorchoj – as they say themselves – “grew tired of Šípek’s postmodern emotions”. They began to gradually lean towards austere, more logical forms of neomodernism, without completely displacing the playful postmodernism in their expression.
The design concept of Olgoj Chorchoj is a conscious connection of purpose and beauty, engineering construction with artistic shaping, a combination of modern robotic technologies and traditional artisanal crafts, rationality and elegance. Logic and emotion can be seen as characteristic expressions of their creative identity, and in this sense, the subtitle of the exhibition was chosen.
Innovation and Tradition, Generational Continuity
Olgoj Chorchoj focuses on collaboration with traditional Czech factories, many of which have been in a state of limbo after years of socialist nationalization of industrial enterprises. Olgoj Chorchoj is behind the successful restart of several of these; let us recall especially the companies TON, Bomma, Moser, Kavalier Glass, Prim, Mikov, and others. Olgoj Chorchoj and their production can thus be characteristic examples of the progressive transformation of the local industrial sector after 1989, during which the fossilized socialist system gradually transformed into neoliberal free-market capitalism. They have received numerous prestigious awards: for their designs, Olgoj Chorchoj has won the Designer of the Year award twice.
The contribution of Michal Froňek and Jan Němeček also lies in their role as heads of the Product Design Studio at the AAAD in Prague, where they pass on their experience to students – the next potential personalities of Czech design. The presentation of products by their successful graduates will be part of the exhibition at the Museum of Applied Arts in Brno.
Concept of the Exhibition
“The exhibition at the Brno Museum of Applied Arts is a retrospective look at the work of Olgoj Chorchoj so far. This retrospective is not just a chronological display of OCH’s realizations, but an attempt to selectively thematize important moments of their professional journey. The choice of the exhibition solution also plays a significant role, deliberately combining elements of postmodern theatricality, visual artistic installations with a modernist sense of order, clarity, and didacticism. Thus, the seemingly paradoxical subtitle of the exhibition, which is: The Logic of Emotion, should also apply to the exhibition concept,” comments the exhibition curator Lada Hubatová-Vacková.
The exhibition will be divided into six separate sections, each reflecting a different period and direction of the designers.
1. PRECURSORS OF THINGS. Various historical objects that inspire OCH.
2. WASTEFUL SHAPES. Postmodern design of OCH from the early nineties, installed by Jiří Černický.
3. TRANSPARENT FORMATION. A return to austere forms of neomodernism used in glass-making technologies.
4. CZECH-TECH. Furniture design that derives from traditional local methods but simultaneously tests innovative possibilities of new technologies and materials.
5. ELEGANT PURISM. Architecture that is formally simple, functional, technologically innovative, yet exquisitely aesthetic.
6. NEW BLOOD. The production of selected graduates who studied in the Product Design Studio of Olgoj Chorchoj at the AAAD in Prague.
Catalog Olgoj Chorchoj: The Logic of Emotion
A catalog of the same name has been published for the exhibition, presenting the professional journey of Olgoj Chorchoj in the areas of design, architecture, and exhibition presentation through seven authored essays, an interview with Michal Froňek and Jan Němeček, and a complete list of their realizations to date. The authors of the texts: Tulga Beyerle, Andrea Březinová, David Crowley, Michael Horsham, Lada Hubatová-Vacková, Rostislav Koryčánek, Adam Štěch, Petr Volf, Jan Wollner.
The graphic design of the catalog, as well as the visual of the promotional campaign, was created by the studio Marvil, namely Jiří Karásek and Tereza Pavelková. Photo: Salim Issa.
Vernissage
The exhibition OCH! Olgoj Chorchoj: The Logic of Emotion will be ceremonially opened on December 8, starting with a children’s vernissage. From 4 PM, a creative movement game will be prepared for children with the dance association Filigrán. At 6 PM, the authors and curators will present the exhibition, followed by a performance by Káča & Sára – singer Sára Vondrášková, known as Never Sol, together with Kateřina Šantrochová.
Accompanying Programs
December 9, 2016, 11:30 AM–12:30 PM Guided tour of the exhibition with designers Olgoj Chorchoj
December 13, 2016, 2 PM Expert guided tour of the exhibition with designers Olgoj Chorchoj
December 23, 2016, 10 AM–2 PM Christmas workshop
January 15, 2017, 2:30 PM−4:30 PM Family afternoon
January 25, 2017, 5 PM Guided tour with Rostislav Koryčánek and Michal Froňek
February 4, 2017, 10 AM–12 PM Saturday studio
February 16, 2017, 6 PM Etudes for Venus – presentation of student designs for the study of the Venus of Věstonice at the Moravian Museum, choir (singing Jan Němeček)
February 22, 2017, 7 PM Space for design with the deFORM studio at Café Praha, opening speech Michal Froněk
March 5, 2017, 2:30 PM–4:30 PM Family afternoon with MG instructors
March 15, 2017, 2 PM, 5 PM Expert guided tours with designer Jan Němeček and curator Rostislav Koryčánek
March 16, 2017, 3 PM–6 PM How to Exhibit Venuses – museum-exhibition symposium
April 1, 2017, 10 AM–12 PM Saturday studio
April 12, 2017, 5 PM Guided tour of the exhibition with Jan Němeček and Lada Hubatová-Vacková
April 12, 2017, 7 PM Space for design with Eduard Hermann and Matěj Coufal at Café Praha
More information >
OCH! Olgoj Chorchoj: The Logic of Emotion
Exhibition curators: Lada Hubatová-Vacková, Rostislav Koryčánek
Museum of Applied Arts (Main Exhibition Space)
Husova 14 9. 12. 2016 – 16. 4. 2017
Michal Froněk (*1966) and Jan Němeček (*1963) founded the studio Olgoj Chorchoj in 1990. At that time, they were young students of the famous designer Bořek Šípek, who began teaching at the AAAD in Prague after the Velvet Revolution. Šípek’s fascination with emotional, unrestrained postmodernism linked to historical decorative styles and craft traditions literally "opened the world" for students. However, around the mid-nineties, the duo Olgoj Chorchoj – as they say themselves – “grew tired of Šípek’s postmodern emotions”. They began to gradually lean towards austere, more logical forms of neomodernism, without completely displacing the playful postmodernism in their expression.
The design concept of Olgoj Chorchoj is a conscious connection of purpose and beauty, engineering construction with artistic shaping, a combination of modern robotic technologies and traditional artisanal crafts, rationality and elegance. Logic and emotion can be seen as characteristic expressions of their creative identity, and in this sense, the subtitle of the exhibition was chosen.
Innovation and Tradition, Generational Continuity
Olgoj Chorchoj focuses on collaboration with traditional Czech factories, many of which have been in a state of limbo after years of socialist nationalization of industrial enterprises. Olgoj Chorchoj is behind the successful restart of several of these; let us recall especially the companies TON, Bomma, Moser, Kavalier Glass, Prim, Mikov, and others. Olgoj Chorchoj and their production can thus be characteristic examples of the progressive transformation of the local industrial sector after 1989, during which the fossilized socialist system gradually transformed into neoliberal free-market capitalism. They have received numerous prestigious awards: for their designs, Olgoj Chorchoj has won the Designer of the Year award twice.
The contribution of Michal Froňek and Jan Němeček also lies in their role as heads of the Product Design Studio at the AAAD in Prague, where they pass on their experience to students – the next potential personalities of Czech design. The presentation of products by their successful graduates will be part of the exhibition at the Museum of Applied Arts in Brno.
Concept of the Exhibition
“The exhibition at the Brno Museum of Applied Arts is a retrospective look at the work of Olgoj Chorchoj so far. This retrospective is not just a chronological display of OCH’s realizations, but an attempt to selectively thematize important moments of their professional journey. The choice of the exhibition solution also plays a significant role, deliberately combining elements of postmodern theatricality, visual artistic installations with a modernist sense of order, clarity, and didacticism. Thus, the seemingly paradoxical subtitle of the exhibition, which is: The Logic of Emotion, should also apply to the exhibition concept,” comments the exhibition curator Lada Hubatová-Vacková.
The exhibition will be divided into six separate sections, each reflecting a different period and direction of the designers.
1. PRECURSORS OF THINGS. Various historical objects that inspire OCH.
2. WASTEFUL SHAPES. Postmodern design of OCH from the early nineties, installed by Jiří Černický.
3. TRANSPARENT FORMATION. A return to austere forms of neomodernism used in glass-making technologies.
4. CZECH-TECH. Furniture design that derives from traditional local methods but simultaneously tests innovative possibilities of new technologies and materials.
5. ELEGANT PURISM. Architecture that is formally simple, functional, technologically innovative, yet exquisitely aesthetic.
6. NEW BLOOD. The production of selected graduates who studied in the Product Design Studio of Olgoj Chorchoj at the AAAD in Prague.
Catalog Olgoj Chorchoj: The Logic of Emotion
A catalog of the same name has been published for the exhibition, presenting the professional journey of Olgoj Chorchoj in the areas of design, architecture, and exhibition presentation through seven authored essays, an interview with Michal Froňek and Jan Němeček, and a complete list of their realizations to date. The authors of the texts: Tulga Beyerle, Andrea Březinová, David Crowley, Michael Horsham, Lada Hubatová-Vacková, Rostislav Koryčánek, Adam Štěch, Petr Volf, Jan Wollner.
The graphic design of the catalog, as well as the visual of the promotional campaign, was created by the studio Marvil, namely Jiří Karásek and Tereza Pavelková. Photo: Salim Issa.
Vernissage
The exhibition OCH! Olgoj Chorchoj: The Logic of Emotion will be ceremonially opened on December 8, starting with a children’s vernissage. From 4 PM, a creative movement game will be prepared for children with the dance association Filigrán. At 6 PM, the authors and curators will present the exhibition, followed by a performance by Káča & Sára – singer Sára Vondrášková, known as Never Sol, together with Kateřina Šantrochová.
Accompanying Programs
December 9, 2016, 11:30 AM–12:30 PM Guided tour of the exhibition with designers Olgoj Chorchoj
December 13, 2016, 2 PM Expert guided tour of the exhibition with designers Olgoj Chorchoj
December 23, 2016, 10 AM–2 PM Christmas workshop
January 15, 2017, 2:30 PM−4:30 PM Family afternoon
January 25, 2017, 5 PM Guided tour with Rostislav Koryčánek and Michal Froňek
February 4, 2017, 10 AM–12 PM Saturday studio
February 16, 2017, 6 PM Etudes for Venus – presentation of student designs for the study of the Venus of Věstonice at the Moravian Museum, choir (singing Jan Němeček)
February 22, 2017, 7 PM Space for design with the deFORM studio at Café Praha, opening speech Michal Froněk
March 5, 2017, 2:30 PM–4:30 PM Family afternoon with MG instructors
March 15, 2017, 2 PM, 5 PM Expert guided tours with designer Jan Němeček and curator Rostislav Koryčánek
March 16, 2017, 3 PM–6 PM How to Exhibit Venuses – museum-exhibition symposium
April 1, 2017, 10 AM–12 PM Saturday studio
April 12, 2017, 5 PM Guided tour of the exhibition with Jan Němeček and Lada Hubatová-Vacková
April 12, 2017, 7 PM Space for design with Eduard Hermann and Matěj Coufal at Café Praha
More information >
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