Designblok 2020

Spatial vs. planar. Infinite universe. Embodiment. These were the evocative themes of Dechem’s installation for the the 22nd year of Designblok festival in Prague devoted to the topic of passion as something that transcends us, becomes timeless and touches imortality.

From its nature, Dechem is identified with combining contemporary design and classic crafts through their deditacion to the glass making. This time, however, thanks to the exhibition they also touched on some other craft fields and conceived the exhibition space as the medium for sharing their unique all-encompassing visons and ideas.

The first part of the room presents the collection of mirrors as a tribute to Madame Bovary, a work commissioned by Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest. In addition, it also reveals the colour and structural studies in the form of axonometrical plywood boards that preceded the final objects. The centrepiece of the whole room is created by the still-life comprising of the Dechem glass vases. The old classics from the Bandaska collection, Vase19 and the new Vase20 collection with beautiful flowers by Plevel, place on the prismatic metal sheets of the wooden tables. Nonetheless, equally important is the connection of the two parts of the room represented by the geometrical chairs behind the table completing the whole settings. The austere minimalism of those simple wooden chairs is accented by the use of colours for their different surfaces corresponding to the playwood boards on the wall and working also as an investigation into the function of this very basic piece of furniture. The opposite side of the room brings the experience to the movie-like scene: the new lights and objects featuring the polished brass and mysterious lithyalin glass. In the middle of this spectacular place the visitors could get some rest and immerse to the glass universe thanks to the very comfortabledark green sofa with delicate velvet cushions, hiding the strict geometry of its angular wooden construction.

The same green velvet was used for the curtains, complemented with brass railing, integrating the whole room of which the walls and surfaces were almost not touched. The Dechem installation offered an opportunity for relaxation and discovery of their great passions for the glass making and the design per se. The public could either visit the exhibition in a unique historical space of St Gabriel Monastery, or view all the installations online via a 3D tour.

Photography: Vojtěch Veškrna