The gallery will exhibit the ceiling mosaic from the Hotel Prague

Prague - The glass ceiling mosaic from the Hotel Praha, which is being demolished, will be displayed by the Prague Gallery of Czech Glass starting April 1. On the day of the vernissage, a debate will take place at the gallery at 6 PM with the participation of the mosaic's author, Eliška Rožátová, which should also contribute to the search for a permanent location for the large artwork. Eva Dryjová from the Prague Gallery of Czech Glass informed ČTK about this.
    The glass circular mosaic Sun is made of hand-crushed centimeter pieces, has a diameter of nine meters, and occupies 63.5 square meters. The rescue of the artwork, which is evidence of the art and design from the turn of the 70s and 80s, was handled by the organization Art&craft Mozaika, which focuses on the protection and rehabilitation of mosaic art.
    The Hotel Praha was built in the late 70s. Until November 1989, it served the needs of the Communist Party and the Czechoslovak government. Many therefore perceive it as a symbol of the pre-November era. Opinions from both the lay public and experts on the demolition of the hotel vary. Some disagree with the demolition, claiming that the hotel is a unique building. Others assert that it is average architecture. The demolition could have been prevented if the state had declared it a cultural monument, but the Ministry of Culture rejected that. The hotel's owner, the PPF group, points out that the building is oversized and economically unviable.
    According to some experts, the artistic works, decorations, and furnishings in the interiors constituted an extraordinarily cohesive collection of contemporary art and design. The main architects of the building were Jaroslav Paroubek, Radko Černý, and Arnošt Navrátil; the interior design involved figures such as Stanislav Libenský, Jaroslava Brychtová, Pavel Hlava, Zbyněk Hřivnáč, Jiří Rathouský, Antonín Hepnar, and others. Some art-craft items have been successfully acquired into the collections of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague and other institutions.
    The mosaic Sun was received by the organization Art&craft Mozaika. "No matter how sad the end of the building, I am grateful that we were allowed access to the hotel and to remove the mosaic, even though we were limited to 14 days of work," said Magdalena Kracík Štorkánová from the organization.
    The author of the mosaic, Eliška Rožátová, studied under Josef Kaplický and Stanislav Libenský at the AAAD and belongs to the generation of artists who entered the art scene in the late 60s. She is the author of numerous realizations in public space and architecture. She received an honorable mention for her works in the Czech pavilion at Expo '67 in Montreal. The mosaic Sun is, according to the glass gallery, testimony to the thriving Czech glass industry used in construction in the 70s and 80s. The materials and technology for fusing glass to duralumin sheets used in aircraft and spacecraft construction are a unique testament to artistic expression in public space.

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