Artel (1908-1935)

Artel. Art for Everyday Life 1908-1935 The Most Beautiful Czech Book of 2009 - 3rd place in the Catalogues category Award of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and the Memorial of National Literature. This comprehensive publication traces the quarter-century-long activities of the Artěl cooperative - one of the most important institutions of Czech applied art and design in the first half of the 20th century. Founded in Prague in 1908, Artěl brought together the most important personalities of the Czech art scene. In its early days, it focused on the design and production of "small art for everyday life" - small utilitarian and decorative objects made of wood, ceramics, metals and other materials, but later expanded its activities to include complex solutions for residential and commercial interiors. In the course of its activities, Artěl has seen several currents of opinion collide, but the common thread has always been the effort to promote modern artistic thinking in the field of applied art and the desire to participate in the cultivation of housing culture and lifestyle. Thus, we can still say today that Artěl is as much a part of European modernism as the inspiring Wiener Werkstätte in Austria or the Bauhaus movement in Germany. The book is available in German, unfortunately the Czech version is disassembled. The publication is also on sale in the museum shop in the house of the Black Mother of God.