Najbrt – Brno Biennial 2018

You are cordially invited to our exhibition at the 28th International Biennial of Graphic Design Brno, organized on the grounds of the lifetime achievement award that Aleš Najbrt received at the Biennial in 2014.

The exhibition charts Aleš Najbrt’s work from its roots in the early 1980s through his art direction of the magazines Reflex and Raut to the transformation and multiplication of his artistic identity in the studio that he established after 1994. It maps visual and organizational principles: visual inspirations, typefaces, collaboration with photographers and Najbrt’s ability to accommodate, collaborate and communicate. The journey from Aleš Najbrt the creator to the Najbrt brand includes work for the theatres of the Prague Five, the film industry, extensive cooperation with the photographer Josef Koudelka, campaigns for the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the Prague Spring music festival or the Czech Philharmonic but also reminds of Najbrt’s performer role in the Sklep Theatre, Tros Sketos and the Thomas & Ruhller comedy duo. The sheer volume, stamina and mass impact of Najbrt’s output, his long-term prominence as prime mover for the visual mainstream, a “designer for our times”, all make it possible to read the exhibition as a story of post-revolution transformation. Najbrt is pop, whatever this word has meant in this republic for the last thirty years.

The Dutch duo Thomas & Ruhller performed at the exhibition opening on the 11th of May.

The exhibition is open until August 26th, 2018.​

Curator: Michal Nanoru
Exhibition design: Zbyněk Baladrán
Graphic design: Bohumil Vašák
Video: Jan Vidlička 

Moravian Gallery

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Museum of Applied Arts
Husova 14, Brno