Beauty governs all

Workmen swab the floor of the Big Hall at DOX, Prague's Center for Contemporary Art. A 700 square meter freestanding wall coils across the gallery, the plaster still wet, and the room is dotted with plaster buckets and stepladders. It's the final stages of construction of "Jan Kaplický: His Own Way," a retrospective of the work of the Czech-born, London-based late architect that opens this week.

"Kaplický is quite a significant architect on the international scene," said Leoš Válka, DOX's founder and director. "But here he is mostly known for the canceled [Czech National] Library project."

Though Kaplický was born in Prague in 1937 and died here last year of a coronary hours after the birth of his first daughter, he spent most of his career in London. To this day, no building designed by Kaplický stands in his native country.  

"We thought it was time to introduce Kaplický to [the Czechs]," Válka said.

Jan Kaplický: His Own Way
When: April 16-Aug. 2
Where: DOX Center for Contemporary Art, Poupětova 1, Prague 7
Admission: 180 Kč, 90 Kč for students and seniors, free for children under 12
The gallery is open Sat., Sun. and Mon. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Wed.-Fri. 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

The Pompidou Centre in Paris was designed in 1971 by a team consisting of Kaplický, British architect Richard Rogers and Italian Renzo Piano.

The Media Centre at Lord's Cricket Ground, London, is an extraordinary white blob that seems on the point of takeoff. The building was designed by Kaplický in collaboration with then-wife Amanda Levete and constructed by boat-builders. It won the 1999 Stirling Prize, the UK's most prestigious architectural award

Selfridges Building in Birmingham, completed in 2003, is a curvy, sequin-clad behemoth without windows or corners. It was hailed as an architectural icon by some, an eyesore by others. The facade is covered with aluminum disks, referred to as "bin-lids" by unimpressed locals.

The National Library of the Czech Republic's commission was awarded in 2007 and canceled in 2008. Václav Havel's support for the project, and Klaus' campaign against it, made the library a political issue.

The exhibition has been planned on a grand scale. The curved wall (which Válka calls "the labyrinth") will hold 300 square meters of designs, sketches and photos documenting Kaplický's projects. Platforms are being constructed for 60 architectural models, some of them two meters high, which will be flown in from Future Systems in London, the firm Kaplický ran with wife Amanda Levete, whom he divorced in 2006 before marrying Czech film producer Eliška Fuchsová.

To complement the undulating walls, two adjoining windows have been stained red and fuchsia pink.

"The colors, shapes and free forms are all based on Kaplický, so the complexity [of designing the exhibition] has been quite challenging," Válka said.

Work on the exhibition, which began six months ago, moved along faster than Válka expected. "Our collaborators were so competent it seems to have all happened very quickly," he said.

Also working on the exhibit were Eva Jiřičná CBE, Kaplický's onetime partner, lifelong friend and an influential architect in her own right, and graphic designer Alan Záruba, who collaborated with Kaplický on his books.

"The idea to organize and prepare this exhibition was initiated in London by Eliška [Fuchsová] and Leoš Válka last summer," said Záruba. "We all met at the 'Farewell to Jan Kaplický' event at the London Design Museum."

Unsurprisingly, this exhibition has become something of a personal tribute.

"He was a charismatic and extremely eloquent man," Valká said. "I think he would have liked this exhibition - we designed it so he would."  

Speaking from her London office, Jiřičná agreed. "I can only hope JK would be pleased to see his achievements under one roof, in the country where he was born and he died," she said. "I hope we have caught at least a little bit of his spirit."

In his own country, Kaplický's reception was perhaps colder than abroad. His design for the National Library, a giant green and purple amorphous structure, nicknamed "The Blob," floundered due to public hostility and fears that it would blight Prague's skyline. Prague Mayor Pavel Bém initially supported the plan before becoming an outspoken critic, and President Václav Klaus famously remarked that he'd be willing to halt construction with his own body.

"The work of Jan Kaplický is original, inspirational and beautiful," Záruba said. "He was a lifetime inspiration and example to me. Jan would quote Le Corbusier, whom he admired very much: 'Beauty governs all!' "

Natalia O'Hara can be reached at
features@praguepost.com