EXPO and the CR

Personalities

In this gallery of personalities, we will briefly present the general commissioners of Czechoslovakian and Czech participation at World Expos, pavilion directors, architects, screenwriters, painters, sculptors, glass makers, film and theatre directors, actors, musicians and artists from various professions, who have contributed to our success at World Expos.

Miroslav Galuška

General Commissioner of the Czechoslovak participation at the expositions EXPO 1967 in Montreal and EXPO 1970 in Osaka, journalist, translator, manager of a creative cinema team, publicist, diplomat, Minister of Culture and Information during the reform period 1968 - 1969.

Acad. arch. Ing. Miroslav Řepa

Prominent architect, author of the Czechoslovak exposition at EXPO 1967 in Montreal, co-author of the exposition EXPO 1970 in Osaka and EXPO 1992 in Seville.

Acad. arch. Vladimír Pýcha

Architect, author of many outstanding architectural projects. Together with architect Miroslav Řepa he won the first place in the national competition for a project of the Czechoslovak pavilion for the World Exposition EXPO '67 v Montreal in the year 1965. After the year 1989 he accepted the offer to participate in the preparation of EXPO expositions and he also participated in the preparation of EXPO 1992 in Seville.

Ladislav Sutnar

The most prominent Czech industrial designer of the 20th century, was a multifaceted artistic personality. In the amazing span of his activities, he was creatively involved in puppet theatre, typography, stage design, the graphic design of utilitarian items, advertising, interior design, specialised education and exhibitions.

Miluše Roubíčková

A prominent Czech glass artist; in her work she breathes life into prosaic artefacts, playfully and wittily revealing their inner poeticism.

René Roubíček

Academic painter, glass making artist, the pioneer of sculpture-like approach to glass. Belongs to the the post-war glass making school founders generation - usage of various techniques, creation of artistic glass objects, creative cooperation with architects and serial production (unique illumination devices).

Alfons Mucha

One of the Czech artists best known throughout the world. His influence on Art Nouveau decorativism was so strong that the whole era carries his name (the 'Mucha Style'). Of all the Czech artists, he achieved the most radical success at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900.

Jaroslava Brychtová, Stanislav Libenský

Two of the most influential Czech glass designers of the 20th century. Their cooperation led to the use of glass as a material ideal to fulfil new creative tasks emerging in the second half of the 20th century. They perfected their technique of melted reground glass, which they used for more than four decades, and used its luminous and optical properties in a creative way.

Josef Svoboda

A leading Czech stage designer and architect. From 1948 he worked as a stage designer at the National Theatre in Prague and was one of the co-founders of the Laterna magika theatre. He is the inventor of new approaches to drama design; he was a pioneer in the use of state-of-the-art technology (film, TV, laser, holography, etc.), and experimented with new audiovisual forms (Laterna magika, polyecran).

Václav Bartuška

Charles University graduate, writer and journalist (Polojasno), in the year 2000 appointed Commissioner General of Czech participation at EXPO 2000 in Hannover. In the summer of 2004, he became director of the Václav Havel Library.