1. en/cs

          1. Publications

            Biennial News

            26th Brno Biennial 2014

            Off-White Paper

            Everything Starts from a Dot



            Further Reading

            1. Interview with the Selection Jury

              Kateřina Přidalová

            2. BB: This year’s International Exhibition exclusively features artworks by students. Are they different from the output of professionals who are excluded from this year’s Biennial competition?

              Marek Pokorný: The focus of this year’s Biennial on students and education should be understood as a matter of concept. It is a major subject, not just political but, in the case of art education, also a critical one, which is much more intensely demonstrated in discussions about “free” art. It is chiefly connected with certain doubts about the role of artists and artworks, or graphic designers and graphic design, in society. In previous years we already noted the dropping number of entries. The make-up of participants changed as well, in favour of the young generation characterized by certain conceptual attitudes in graphic design. This year’s entries bear all the marks known from previous years. What I personally miss is self-initiated work. On the other hand, there are more interesting pieces in the field of the new media, and it is much more obvious from which environment, school and teacher the artists are coming from.

              Joris Kritis: The works submitted to this year’s competition did strangely not very differ from what you would expect “professional” graphic designers would send in. The works constituted of graphic identities, posters for cultural institutions, logos, self-initiated projects etc. One could conclude that that would mean that graphic design educations are reflecting the recent economic turmoils and are preparing students much more for the professional world than would maybe be the case in a traditional art education. But I think the explanation is more grey than that. The selection of works was done by the students themselves which could also explain the reason for the relatively low experimental and cross-discipline entrances. The entered works do reflect a very vibrant and experimental attitude in most of the design educations.

              Mikuláš Macháček: I was surprised by the generally high, almost professional standards of the works. Although the competition exhibition was not, for the second time, limited by categories, I expected more experimental, outlandish pieces that can’t be pigeonholed, such as the videos we chose for the exhibition.

              Linda Dostálková: I think that students today carefully select the context in which they want to see their work. They are pushed towards contemplating what direction their work is taking, how exceptional it is, and they try to anchor it in existing formats. There is a whole range of possibilities of how to communicate one’s vision but students first test whether they would hold up in real life, they don’t want to create them themselves. I’d say that the risk reputedly required from the younger generation is more of a myth. On the contrary: risk comes with certain experience, when you are able to work with possibilities.

              BB: School output might differ in many things from that of professionals that is usually connected with a client’s requirements. What kind of “clients” are schools? Please describe briefly the types of artefacts you have selected.

              MP: I can’t really define this in hindsight. It will certainly be obvious in what cultural circle students move, whether they studied under Martens or Troxler, if they are linked with the Swiss or Dutch branch, etc. In the light of this experience, schools as customers appear as an “advance guard” of future clients. In fact, there are only few excesses here that I find interesting. The question is whether schools prepare their students for making it on the market, or whether they should cultivate critical attitudes to one’s own discipline, self-reflection and constant testing of what’s good and what’s bad. Shouldn’t graphic design students know more about the world and its practical problems if they want to, if not change it, at least to interpret it?

              JK: The works we have chosen range from posters, videos, identities, books, etc. In other words, the normal output of any graphic design education. Sometimes the schools themselves have a strong identity, and you could feel the influence the education has to the work of the students as a whole. I dont think the idea of a client can be applicable to the school since the school is not per se asking anything from the students other than the development of themselves. In case of production processes I was surprised that the range was so wide. It seems that the students are really invested in getting to know a very wide range of the technical characteristics of graphic design. What really struck me though was the fact that we did not choose many web- or motion graphics type of student projects. Is that a reflection of the fact that the educators are a bit older and are not giving assignments investigating these things?

              MM: The selection was intuitive, without any criteria set in advance. Speaking for myself, I concentrated on works whose subject and approach to the assignment appealed to me and that manifested a clear opinion. The final selection is really varied and reflects a wide range of approaches.

              LD: We had an opportunity to view a large number of inspirational approaches and methods. One surprising example are videos from the Rietveld Academie. The harmony between content and form is a natural substance of artworks today. We therefore centred on aspects that might indicate an autonomous interpretation of a piece with regard to its school origin. Studio assignments send students on a journey the direction of which is set by teachers. I wouldn’t call teachers clients, I don’t think that schools should function as simulators of practice.

              BB: The quality of the exhibition is defined by the prestige of the international selection jury. Given the number of entries (2,000) in proportion to selection time (two days), it is obviously complicated to set any quality criteria. The selection of artefacts is thus done intuitively by the jury members. Could you describe “quality” graphic design? What requirements should a quality design piece meet?

              MP: The answer would fill a study or a book. The selection jury always consists of strong personalities, and in recent years of the same generation. My points of departure are based on experience, are less theoretical and very subjective. I try to understand whether a particular piece corresponds to the assignment purpose or whether the graphic designer also tried to change the client’s attitude. There are probably no style guidelines today and so it’s important for me whether the artist uses a concrete language of graphic design (or a certain type of conceptual approach) only as a tool or as a means to understand the task. But any judging is unjust in this case because there is no context, so the jury might not understand the artist however hard they try.

              JK: Yes, the selection process was very intuitive, which I believe was the best way under the circumstances. And in most cases, the whole jury – with very different backgrounds – would be unanimous in their appreciation. If I would have to define a couple of qualities in describing qualitative works, it would be a.o. an understanding of a medium, technical proficiency, inventive solutions in conceptual thinking, paired with formal intelligence.

              MM: I don’t think it’s possible to define quality or non-quality graphic design in general terms. It always depends on the context in which you assess it. Schools place emphasis on the process, results are assessed in the context of the work’s development. During the jury’s selection process we defined criteria within the corpus of entries.

              LD: To define criteria before the selection of works would mean that we anticipate the nature of the exhibits, and this would have probably tied our hands. Criteria of contemporary graphic design are subjective and what we consider graphic design is changing its shape. The horizon is slowly moving away. I say slowly, because the theory of possible strategies is in its formulations further than the discipline. I think that the reason is that designers, artists and consumers subconsciously reject the dissolving of disciplines. Quality results can’t be achieved by constant efforts at understanding the essences of related branches. As for criteria definition, the Werkplaats Typografie, for example, organizes an annual workshop called Best Books. Under the guidance of a guest curator, students try to specify the parameters of the best book. The criteria are always completely different.

              BB: Is there a certain dominant, global trend in graphic design teaching, or does the nature of the selected works rather reflect local, socio-culturally different teaching procedures?

              MP: With the exception of certain visual codes rooted in local traditions, schools are coming closer to one another. The world is shrinking, people read the same theorists, discuss the same stars, entertain themselves in the virtual space and on social networks. An international language is taking shape, with vernacular contents that, unlike contemporary art, are not so distinct because graphic design is naturally more than art connected with the circulation of goods and services that is more unified in different parts of the world than political and personal issues or lifestyles.

              JK: I think there are definitely trends visible through the works of different nations, educations and schools. The popularity of traditional printed matter is visible, the experimental nature of video is still very attractive and some schools, for example the Rietveld Academie have a strong identity. Nations like Poland and Taiwan send in a lot of work, but are out of touch with current graphic design tendencies. They seem to build further on tradition of poster design which is politically inspired, but that doesn’t seem to capture the imagination of any of the jury members. The presence of the internet does create a kind of transnational / educational network. Nonetheless it seems that students are very much doing without too much influence from the outside world, which is a very good thing.

              LD: Schools publish “mission statements” on their websites through which they define their goals and teaching processes. The majority of these statements overlap. Thanks to this, a joint trend can be defined more accurately. Generally speaking, orientation in socio-cultural issues is expected in today’s education; teaching centres on students’ ability to critically handle content and find an appropriate form of communication. Individual schools then fine-tune their direction with regard to personalities teaching there. Popular terms of the late 1990s such as strategy, communication and corporation have been replaced with words like research, reflection, text, image, role. The globalized world is about semiotics, the ability to recognize which details are important to achieve the desired effect. The diversity of works at a certain level is actually not so broad. We seek original paths across the world of signs, and this requires certain empathy.

            3. Marek Pokorný (CZ)

              Marek Pokorný (b. 1963) is a curator, publicist and a cultural manager. In the 90s, he was active as a curator and art critic in daily press, from 1995 to 2000 as an editor of Detail – a magazine for visual culture. In 2003 and 2004 he was the main curator of House of The Kunstat Lords of the Brno House of Arts. Between 2004 and 2012 he was a director of the Moravian Gallery in Brno. He curated a wide range of exhibitions of contemporary art, including projects for Czecho-Slovak pavilion at the Venice Biennale (2005 and 2013). Since 2013 he is a member of PLATO – platform for contemporary art Ostrava. He is a chair of the organisation committee of the International Biennial of Graphic Design Brno.

            4. Joris Kritis (BE)

              Joris Kritis (1983) studied graphic design at Sint-Lucas Ghent and was a participant of the Werkplaats Typografie between 2006 & 2008. Since 2009 he is working as an independent graphic designer. From 2009 till 2011 he was designing the arts review Metropolis M in collaboration with Julie Peeters and in 2010 they restyled the graphic identity of the Beursschouwburg in Brussels, which won the public prize in the Cobra Power of Print competition.

              Clients include The Royal Museums of Fine Art, Brussels, Contour, Mechelen, the Appel Curatorial Programme, Amsterdam, ROMA Publications, OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen, Canadian Centre for Architecture, Piet Zwart Institute, Architecture Workroom Brussels, BOZAR, Brussels, If I Can’t Dance …, Amsterdam, Elisa Platteau Gallery, EPFL, Lausanne, The Flemish Architecture Institute, etc.

              In 2011, his work has been selected for the Brno Biennale and with the book Changing Cultures of Planning, he won the Prix Fernand Baudin, as well as a bronze medal in the Most Beautiful Book of the World-competition in Leipzig. The Flanders Architectural Review 2012 was selected for the Best Designed Books in the Netherlands.

              He has been teaching in the Gerrit Rietveld Academie since 2011, and has given workshops in Ghent, Oranjenstadt and Talinn.

            5. Mikuláš Macháček (CZ)

              Graphic designer, studied at AAAD in Prague and ABK in Maastricht. Following an internship at Studio Dumbar (Den Haag, NL) a member of Studio Najbrt (Prague, CZ) for eight years. In 2011 he establishes studio zetzetzet, together with Sarka Zikova. The studio is focused on graphic, interior and product design. Currently for the third year, Mikulas Machacek is a head of Studio of graphic design 2 at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Brno.

            6. Linda Dostálková (CZ)

              Established studio The Bestseller Creative Platform (together with her sister Daniela Dostálková, in 2005). She is the head of the graphic design department Text Form Function at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Ostrava. She currently studies at the Werkplaats Typografie in Arnhem. She graduated from scenography at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno in 2003, studied new media at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw from 2001 to 2003, and from 2000 to 2001 architecture at the Faculty of Architecture of the Technical University of Liberec. The concepts behind her work are often derived from her studies of performing arts. She is interested in implications of scenography to graphic and exhibition design.

          2. Publications

            Biennial News

            Summer & Fall issue

          3. Contents

          4. Summer Issue

            Interviews with: Åbäke (GB)The first time Francesco Spampinato heard the word Åbäke dates back to 2002, associated with electronic music label Kitsuné, which is also a quintessential parisienne fashion brand. In fact Kitsuné is just one galaxy – collateral and not even representative – of the Åbäke universe, a London-based design studio behind which lurk Patrick Lacey, Benjamin Reichen, Kajsa Ståhl and Maki Suzuki. Active since 2000, the Royal College of Art alumni count clients like the British Council and the Serpentine Gallery, and collaborations with fashion designers such as Hussein Chalayan and Maison Martin Margiela, artists such as Ryan Gander, Johanna Billing and Martino Gamper, and bands such as Air and Daft Punk.

            As the term Åbäke suggests, however, the Swedish word for a large and cumbersome object, Francesco suspects that the group supports the burden of design on commission only to learn rules and conventions that it is happy to deconstruct at other times. Åbäke, indeed, is also responsible for meta-design projects, independent, transdisciplinary, strictly collective and often participatory: the dialogical digital platform for architecture Sexymachinery (2000–2008), the relational culinary events of Trattoria (2003), the publishing project Dent-De-Leone (2009), the propaganda for the imaginary Victoria & Alferd Museum (2010), and the spy agency Åffice Suzuki (2010).

            For Åbäke constantly attracts the attention of the art world: most of its projects do not certainly meet criteria of functionality, but raise questions about how design conveys the forms of transmission of culture. Publications, curatorship, talks and workshops, indeed, are integral part of their activities. So when Spampinato invites the group to be part of his book on art collectives, Åbäke agrees to contribute if Francesco writes in exchange this biography, inserting himself, “so it isn't authorless,” in third person, putting thereby in crisis the role of the critic and the conditions under which he normally associates intellectual values to cultural phenomena.             , Sulki & Min Choi (KR)Sulki & Min are Seoul-based graphic designers. Sulki Choi studied communication design at Chungang University, Korea, and Min Choi at Seoul National University, Korea. Both earned their MFA degrees in graphic design at Yale University, New Haven, US. They worked as researchers in design at the Jan van Eyck Academie, Maastricht, the Netherlands, from 2003 until 2005. Since they came back to Seoul, Sulki & Min have worked mainly in cultural area, collaborating with institutions and individuals for the design of graphic identities, marketing materials and publications. In 2006, they held their first exclusive exhibition at the Gallery Factory in Seoul, for which they received the Art Award of the Year from the Arts Council Korea. They have participated in many exhibitions at institutions including Frankfurter Kunstverein, Moravian Gallery in Brno, Ningbo Graphic Design Biennale, Anyang Public Art Project, Arko Art Center, Platform Seoul, Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts in San Francisco and Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. They also make and publish books through their own Specter Press, often collaborating with contemporary Korean artists and writers. Sulki & Min worked as graphic designers for the BMW Guggenheim Lab, a collaborative project initiated by the Guggenheim Foundation and BMW, during its three-year operation in New York, Berlin and Mumbai, for which they created an interactive graphic identity system based on on-line participation. In 2013, Min Choi curated Typojanchi, an international biennial of typography in Seoul, as the curatorial director. Both Sulki Choi and Min Choi teach graphic design and typography, at Kaywon School of Art & Design and the University of Seoul, respectively. , Koenraad Dedobbeleer (BE)Koenraad Dedobbeleer is an artist, occasional curator and amateur publisher from Brussels, Belgium. He spends an important amount of his time in the European capital, sharing life with his wife, the no less than brilliant artist, Valérie Mannaerts and their daughter Claude Konrad Mannaerts.

            Recent exhibitions include amongst others: Gusiform Gyros at Lisson Gallery, London Weather Permitting 9° Bienal do Mercosul, Porto Alegre Hearsay, Rumours, Bed-sit Dreamers and Art Begins Today at Galerie Micheline Szwajcer The Desperate, Furiously Positive Striving of People Who Refuse to Be Dismissed at Extra City Kunsthal, Antwerp Der Brancusi Effect, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna

            He recently published the book Compensating Transient Pleasurable Excitations with Roma Publications of Amsterdan and together with Kris Kimpe put together a travelling lecture (UP) BAR which originated last March at La Loge, Brussels.             , Linda Dostálková (CZ)Established studio The Bestseller Creative Platform (together with her sister Daniela Dostálková, in 2005). She is the head of the graphic design department Text Form Function at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Ostrava. She currently studies at the Werkplaats Typografie in Arnhem. She graduated from scenography at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno in 2003, studied new media at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw from 2001 to 2003, and from 2000 to 2001 architecture at the Faculty of Architecture of the Technical University of Liberec. The concepts behind her work are often derived from her studies of performing arts. She is interested in implications of scenography to graphic and exhibition design. , Kurt Finsten (DK)Art historian and architect. Engaged in graphic design, lighting design and painting. Since 1991 director of Krabbesholm Højskole, a Danish art college specialized in art, photography, architecture, design, and graphic design. , Rudy Guedj (FR)Rudy Guedj is a French graphic designer based in Amsterdam. He graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in 2013. Could it be on autonomous or on commissioned works, his practice often involves the use of drawing. His work generates narratives, typographical or abstracted signs, and explores reading structures and possibilities of the line. , Elisabeth Klement (EE)Elisabeth Klement (1987) is a graphic designer based in Amsterdam. She currently works at the graphic design department of the Rietveld Academie. Together with Laura Pappa she organises the annual Asterisk Summer School in Tallinn. & Pieter Verbeke (BE)Pieter Verbeke (1982) is an arts organiser based in Amsterdam. He is a librarian at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie and has organised exhibitions and projects relating to art collecting and publishing. Since 2011, together they run art book shop and exhibition space San Serriffe in Amsterdam. , Vladimír Kokolia (CZ)Professor Vladimír Kokolia (* 27 November 1956, Brno) is a painter, he lives and works in Veverské Knínice and Prague. He graduated from the AVU academy in 1981. Vladimír Kokolia has had over 90 solo exhibitions and has taken part in 300 groups exhibitions, for example, at the Documenta IX in Kassel. In 1990 he was the first artist to win the Jindřich Chalupecký Prize for artists under thirty-five. Since 1992 he has headed the Graphic Art II department at the Academy of Fine Arts, Prague, and for the last three years has been the vice-chancellor for studies at the academy. Between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s Vladimír Kokolia was the frontman and lyric writer in the E rock trio. He has been practising Chinese tai-chi of the Chen family for over twenty-five years. Kokolia’s outstanding results in composting earned him the Miss Compost of the CR award in 2007. In 2012 he received the Prize from Dalibor Chatrný for the best artist over thirty-five. , Joris Kritis (BE)Joris Kritis (1983) studied graphic design at Sint-Lucas Ghent and was a participant of the Werkplaats Typografie between 2006 & 2008. Since 2009 he is working as an independent graphic designer. From 2009 till 2011 he was designing the arts review Metropolis M in collaboration with Julie Peeters and in 2010 they restyled the graphic identity of the Beursschouwburg in Brussels, which won the public prize in the Cobra Power of Print competition.

            Clients include The Royal Museums of Fine Art, Brussels, Contour, Mechelen, the Appel Curatorial Programme, Amsterdam, ROMA Publications, OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen, Canadian Centre for Architecture, Piet Zwart Institute, Architecture Workroom Brussels, BOZAR, Brussels, If I Can’t Dance …, Amsterdam, Elisa Platteau Gallery, EPFL, Lausanne, The Flemish Architecture Institute, etc.

            In 2011, his work has been selected for the Brno Biennale and with the book Changing Cultures of Planning, he won the Prix Fernand Baudin, as well as a bronze medal in the Most Beautiful Book of the World-competition in Leipzig. The Flanders Architectural Review 2012 was selected for the Best Designed Books in the Netherlands.

            He has been teaching in the Gerrit Rietveld Academie since 2011, and has given workshops in Ghent, Oranjenstadt and Talinn.             , James Langdon (GB)James Langdon is an independent designer. He is one of six directors of the artist-run gallery Eastside Projects in Birmingham, UK; and founder of the itinerant School for Design Fiction. In 2012 he received the Inform International Award for Conceptual Design, presented by Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst, Leipzig, Germany. He has worked as a designer for numerous artists, and for institutions including Book Works, London; Sternberg Press, Berlin; Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver; and OCA, Oslo. Curatorial initiatives include ‘Arefin & Arefin: The Graphic Design of Tony Arefin’, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, UK (2012); ‘Construction School’, Kunstverein, Amsterdam, Netherlands (2012); Norman Potter’s ‘In:quest of Icarus’, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands (2012); and ‘Book Show’, Eastside Projects, Birmingham, UK (2010). He has lectured internationally at institutions including Konstfack, Stockholm, Sweden; Camberwell College of Arts, London, UK; Werkplaats Typografie, Arnhem, Netherlands; HFG Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany; and Jan van Eyck Academie, Maastricht, Netherlands. , Radana Lencová (CZ)Studied at the VŠUP Prague (1994–2000) and in the school’s doctorate programme (2002–2005). She is a graphic designer specializing in art experiments combining type, light and dance (Metamorphosis of Waste – Transformation of the Soul project). Her current work involves book design and free calligraphy (The Line of Breath project). She has received several awards, for example, the Alfons Mucha Prize; the Brno Biennale Prize (1998); the Most Beautiful Czech Book prize, and others. , Mikuláš Macháček (CZ)Graphic designer, studied at AAAD in Prague and ABK in Maastricht. Following an internship at Studio Dumbar (Den Haag, NL) a member of Studio Najbrt (Prague, CZ) for eight years. In 2011 he establishes studio zetzetzet, together with Sarka Zikova. The studio is focused on graphic, interior and product design. Currently for the third year, Mikulas Machacek is a head of Studio of graphic design 2 at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Brno. , Mevis & Van Deursen (NL)Armand Mevis (1963, Oirsbeek, NL) and Linda Van Deursen (1961, Aardenburg, NL) established their office for graphic design in 1987 in the Dutch Capital after having graduated at the Rietveld Academy Amsterdam. They designed numerous books for artists such as Rineke Dijkstra (NL), Peter Downsbrough (US), Aglaia Konrad (AT), Walter Niedermayr (IT), Gabriel Orozco (MEX), Bas Princen (NL), Cerith Wyn Evans (GB) or architects as Delugan Meissl Associated (AT), Christian Kerez (CH), Office Kersten Geers David van Severen (BE) and SANAA (JP), developed numerous corporate identities as for the Dutch fashion designers Victor & Rolf or the City of Rotterdam, Cultural Capital in 2009, and created templates for Dutch magazines as Metropolis M or De Groene Amsterdammer. Armand Mevis is Head at Werkplaats typography in Arnhem and Linda Van Deursen is Director of the Graphic Design Department at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy; both are teaching at the School of Art, Yale University, New Haven (US). with Moritz Küng (CH)Moritz Küng (1961, Lucerne, CH) is an exhibition curator and book editor working above all at the intersection between art and architecture. He worked together with Mevis & Van Deursen since 1988 on more than thirty occasions, mainly the production of exhibition catalogues and artists’ books. He lives in Barcelona. , Fraser Muggeridge (GB)Fraser Muggeridge is director of Fraser Muggeridge studio, a graphic design company based in London. He also is visiting tutor at the Department of Typography & Graphic Communication, University of Reading, and Camberwell College of Art, London. In 2010 he founded Typography Summer School, a week-long programme of typographic study in London for recent graduates and professionals, now running in London and New York. , Nina Paim (BR)Born in 1986 in Brazil Nina Paim lives and works in Berlin. After a detour into economics and philosophy, Nina studied graphic design at Esdi, Rio de Janeiro and the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam. Her bachelor project was Escola Aberta, a temporary design school in Rio from August 6–11, 2012. Nina's work usually involves many others and revolves around notions of directing and collaborating. Since graduation, she has been working independently as a graphic designer as well as taking forays into the fields of curating, mediating, and teaching. In June 2013 her collaboration with Corinne Gisel was nominated for the Swiss Design Award. , Barbara Steiner (AT)Barbara Steiner is curator, editor and author with an emphasis on politics of representation, institutional critique/criticality, architecture, and display. From 2001 to 2011, Steiner was Director of the Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst Leipzig. There, she also initiated the annual art prize INFORM, an accolade presented to graphic designers, who develop a practise within the context of graphic design and art. From May 2012 to May 2013 Steiner headed Europe (to the power of) n, a transnational project, which took place in eleven cities in and outside the European Union. After, she was curator in residence at Castrum Peregrini in Amsterdam. Within the scope of her residency she drew attention to the relation of art and graphic design in particular consideration of their social and economic entanglements. , Tom Vandeputte (NL)Tom Vandeputte is a writer and theorist based in London and Amsterdam. He teaches and convenes a critical theory programme at the Sandberg Institute and is a visiting lecturer at King’s College London. Vandeputte holds an MRes with distinction from the London Consortium and is currently completing a PhD in philosophy at the Centre for Cultural Studies, Goldsmiths College. His writings have been published in various books and journals, including Metropolis M and Log. Together with Tim Ivison, he edited Contestations (Bedford Press, 2013), a book on experimental forms of education and self-organised learning beyond the academy. , Rostislav Vaněk (CZ)Rostislav Vaněk (1945) studied at the Graphic School Prague (1960–1964) and at the Studio of Illustration and Graphics with Prof. Karel Svolinský AAAD in Prague (1964–1970). Between 1971–1976 lecturer in the Studio of Applied Graphics and Poster with Prof. Eugen Weidlich, AAAD in Prague, 1976–1985 head of the art editorial office of Československý spisovatel Publishers in Prague, and since 1985 he has worked as freelance graphic designer in his own studio. In 2001 he has been appointed Professor in the Studio of Graphic Design and Visual Communication, the AAAD in Prague, and has been working there till now. Founding member of Typo& (1974), co-founder and chair of the TypoDesignClub Prague (1995). He designed more than 20 Czechoslovak postage stamps, half of which won an award in the competition for the Most Beautiful Stamp of the Year. Significant realizations: Prague Metro orientation system, visual identity of hotels Forum, Palace, Atrium in Prague, Dvořák Hotel in Karlovy Vary. He designed the logo and manual for the Czech Airlines, including graphic design of all aircrafts and land vehicles (collaboration with R. Leszczynski), visual identity for the Czechoslovak Commercial Bank, the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group in Prague 2000, visual style for the International Conference Identity – Integrity, Icograda, Brno Biennial 2002. He created book design for more than 1,000 book titles. His work obtained many awards for graphic design and visual communication, e.g. Special Prize of the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig IBA Leipzig 1977, Exhibition Graphics Award Praga, The World Stamp Exhibition 1978, Certificate of Honour 10th Brno Biennial 1982, bronze medal Praga, The World Stamp Exhibition 1988, Certificate of Honour IBA Leipzig 1989, Achievement Award Icograda, Identity – Integrity Icograda Conference Brno Biennial 2002, Excellent Design Award, Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Design Centre of the Czech Republic 2003, Organising Committee Award for a contribution to graphic design, Brno Biennial 2010.
            Practical Info (Venues, Opening Hours, Admission), Biennial Talks (20.–22.6.2014), OFF Program (Summer term), Brno Biennial Accompanying Events, The Moravian Gallery in Brno (Permanent Exhibitions, Accompanying Programme)

            Fall Issue

            Text: Oliver Klimpel (DE)Oliver Klimpel (narozen v Drážďanech) je grafický designér, který žije v Londýně a vede tam studio Büro International. Podílí se na mnoha designových projektech pro kulturní i komerční sektor, jako například Tate Modern v Londýně, Museum Folkwang v Essenu, Goethe-Institut v Londýně či Taipei Contemporary Art Center. Po letech vyučování na Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design a London College of Communication byl v roce 2008 jmenován profesorem na Akademii výtvarných umění v Lipsku, kde vede třídu systémového designu. – Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime
            Interviews with: the Selection Jury, Petr BabákPetr Babák (Graphic Studio Laboratoř) “He handed in two graphic designs into the tender for the New Logo and City Visual Indentity of Brno. One contained slogan ‘Brno is the golden Ship’ and the second one was crossed out Hradčany. At the Academy of Arts, Architecture & Design in Prague in the Atelier of Graphic Design and New Media, as well as in the Graphic Studio Laboratoř, he rules with infantile sophistication…” (Michal Nanoru, Živel) , Luna Maurer (NL) & Roel Wouters (NL), Roosje KlapRoosje Klap (1973) has set up studio for visual communication after her Graphic Design studies at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. Roosje Klap mainly works for a clientèle in the cultural field. & Niels Schrader (NL)Niels Schrader (1977) studied Communication Design at the University of Applied Sciences in Düsseldorf and at the Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam. He worked as a freelance designer for Uwe Loesch and Irma Boom and set up his own studio in Amsterdam.
            Practical Info (Venues, Opening Hours, Admission), Back to School! (19.–21.9.), OFF Program (Fall term), Brno Biennial Accompanying Events, The Moravian Gallery in Brno (Permanent Exhibitions, Accompanying Programme)

            Colophon

            Interviews: Tomáš Celizna (CZ)Tomáš Celizna (1977) is interested in graphic design in connection with new technologies. He is a founding partner of design studio dgú in Prague (2001–2005), recipient of J. W. Fulbright Scholarship (2006), and holds M.F.A. in graphic design from Yale University School of Art (2008). He currently lives and works independently in Amsterdam. Collaborations include, among others, BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht; Graduate School of Design Harvard University, Cambridge; Faculty of Architecture CTU, Prague; OASE Journal for Architecture, Rotterdam; Royal Academy of Art, The Hague; Sandberg Instituut, Amsterdam; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam and The New Institute, Rotterdam. Since 2011 he is a lecturer in graphic design at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam, and a member of the curatorial team of the International Biennial of Graphic Design Brno. , Adam Macháček (CZ)Adam Macháček (1980) is a graphic designer. Following studies at the AAAD in Prague, Gerrit Rietveled Academie in Amsterdam and Ecal in Lausanne, he co-founded in 2004 studio Welcometo.as in Lausanne and is a member of 2014 Designers collective. His work includes publications, exhibition catalogues, illustrations and identities. Collaborations include, among others, The Moravian Gallery in Brno, Théâtre de Vevey (2003–2012 seasons), Galerie Rudolfinum, SFMOMA, Chronicle Books, Museum of Czech Literature, Brno House of Arts. For Brno Biennial he initiated and organized exhibitions Work from Switzerland (2004) and Work from Mars (2006, together with Radim Peško). Since 2011 he is a member of the curatorial team of the International Biennial of Graphic Design in Brno. He lives and works in Berkeley. & Radim Peško (CZ)Radim Peško is a graphic designer based in London. He works in the field of type design, editorial and exhibition projects. Work includes identity for Secession Vienna (AT), Berlin Biennale 8 (DE) in collaboration with Zak Group, various work for Moravian Gallery, Brno (CZ), Eastside Projects, Birmingham (UK) or a long-term collaboration with artist Kateřina Šedá among others. In 2010 he has established his RP Digital Type Foundry that specializes on typefaces that are both formally and conceptually distinctive. He teaches at Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam (NL) and École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Lyon (F). Since 2011 he is part of curatorial board of International Biennial of Graphic Design in Brno (CZ). , Kateřina Přidalová (CZ)Kateřina Přidalová (1978) studied history of art at Masaryk University in Brno. She is a publicist, critic of design and editor of design and visual culture website Designreader.org. She founded blog VizualniKultura.cz and writes for cultural magazine A2 and Biennial News. As a lecturer of workshop Graphic design is (not) ageing (2013) collaborated with NGO Czechdesign.
            Edited by: Martina Tlachová, TC&AM&RP, Miroslava Pluháčková
            Graphic design: TC&AM&RP
            Printed by: Tiskárna Didot s. r. o.

            Czech/English, 180 × 350 mm, 48 & 32 pages, self-cover, staple-bound
            The Moravian Gallery in Brno, 2014

            Availability

            Both issues of the Biennial News are available for free to the visitors of the 26th Brno Biennial 2014, and in selected cafés across the city of Brno.

          5. /1
    1. 26th International Biennial of Graphic Design Brno 2014
      Graphic Design, Education & Schools
      19.6.–26.10.2014
      en/cs

    2. 26th Brno Biennial 2014
      Visitor Info
      Accompanying Events
      Contributors
      History
      The Moravian Gallery
       
      Press
      Partners
      Colophon
      Contact

    3. International Exhibition

      Taking a Line for a Walk
      Off-White Paper
      From A to B to C
      Furnitures
      The Study Room

      Mevis & Van Deursen
      Rostislav Vaněk

    4. Biennial Talks
      Back to School!
      OFF Program

      Publications

    5. Facebook
      Twitter
      YouTube

    © 2013–2024 The Moravian Gallery in Brno and respective authors
    Page last updated on 27.4.2016