SHOTBY.US: Space of Desire (Czech Grand Design 2024)

SHOTBY.US: Space of Desire 
Exhibition of the Czech Grand Design Awards 2024 finalists

7/2 2025—10/3 2025
Gallery 3

Curator: Iva Polanecká 

This unique exhibition project straddles the border between contemporary design and visual art, spilling out from the established formats of gallery presentation. The artistic duo SHOTBY.US (Karolína Matušková and Lenka Glisníková) is known for its expressive and playful approach to the photographic medium and its ability to formulate visual narratives. They have transformed the space of the Kunsthalle Praha into a multilayered installation which platforms the works of the finalists of this year’s Czech Grand Design Awards. 

The exhibition explores the emotions of desire and critically reflects our relationship to objects and the ways they are represented in contemporary visual culture. Drawing inspiration from the work of theorist Beatriz Colomina, the Shotby.us artist duo explores the ways in which modern subjectivity is produced through décor, and the ways domestic space becomes a stage for the public audience. They come to the conclusion that we are no longer the creators of the world we had once produced, but rather that the world has come to define us – private space becomes a proscenium where people play out the tension between authenticity and styling. 

The exhibition develops along three spatial vectors: the public space of the street, the commercial space of the shop window, and an intimate apartment turned into a showroom. These spaces are inhabited by original objects – beings existing on the threshold between a mannequin and a chair which serve as mediators between the audience and the exhibited designer artefacts. Visitors thus become the last active link in the chain of this living composition; they transform into actors for a performance where the limits between the audience and the exhibit, between the authentic and the staged, gradually dissolve. 

The exhibition thus exceeds the standard format of a design showcase, providing artistic testimony to the ways we inhabit, present, and consume our living spaces. Through theatrical arrangement and by adopting a unique, surrealist aesthetic, it exposes the mechanisms of desire and representation which inform our contemporary visual culture and our relationship to the material world around us. 

Buy your ticket

Explore the exhibition with the help of a digital guide! It will take you through the display directly at Kunsthalle or from the comfort of your home. Discover key artworks on a clear map and read the most important information:

Digital Guide

You can also read the exhibition brochure online. It will help you find your way around the gallery:

Exhibition Brochure

Designer of the Year 2024, Ministry of Culture Award

(in alphabetical order)

  • Kateřina Handlová / Unreality vase collection (Rückl), Flare lighting fixtures (Bomma), and medals for the 2024 Ice Hockey World Championship

  • JanskyDundera & kolemhlíny / around table

  • Jiří Krejčiřík / Fold–able folding table and chairs (BUDU), Scene21 modular kitchen (in collaboration with Futuro Studio, Towárna), Bor21 work desk, and YKB sideboard

Fashion Designer of the Year 2024

(in alphabetical order)

  • Jan Černý / Entrance Collection for the Czech Olympic and Paralympic Team 2024

  • Aleš Hnátek / Wardrobe 1 Collection

  • LAFORMELA / CAMPAIGN FILM MAINLINE 24 and MAINLINE 24/25 Collection

Jewelry Designer of the Year 2024

(in alphabetical order)

  • Dick Wolf / Collection 34

  • Janja Prokić / Amor Fati Collection

  • Magdalena Šťastníková / Tender Tendrils Collection and Drape Jewelry for Tomáš Němec's Cruise24 Collection

Graphic Designer of the Year 2024

(in alphabetical order)

  • Filip Blažek, Linda Kudrnovská, and Studio Mowshe / Project Identita – The Story of Czech Graphic Design

  • Adrián Gubrica / Project The Interactive Dictionary of Free Speech

  • Studio zetzetzet (Mikuláš Macháček, Anna Macháčková, and Šárka Zíková) / Visual Identity for the Museum of Prague

Photographer of the Year 2024

(in alphabetical order)

  • Lena Knappová / Work for Blue Paper and Circ Magazine, backstage for Ann Demeulemeester and Rick Owens

  • Klára Kudláček / Campaign for Ondřej Stára

  • Tereza Mundilová / Editorial Snow Strippers and portraits of Sega Bodega for 032c, cover story with Franz Rogowski, and portraits of Olivia Rodrigo for ZEITmagazin and Florentina Holzinger for ZEIT

Illustrator of the Year 2024

(in alphabetical order)

  • Michal Bačák / Marquetry for Forbína bar (collaboration: zeitgeist.limited)

  • Michaela Kukovičová / Illustrations for the author’s books Dívej, ulice (Baobab) and Kniha roku (collaboration: Magdalena Rutová, Baobab)

  • Lucie Lučanská / Mural We Should Have a Talk and illustrations for the author’s book Dentro Da Tenda (Planeta Tangerina)

Manufacturer of the Year 2024

(in alphabetical order)

  • FABINI / Boldi stainless steel cutlery (Natálie Navrátilová)

  • Master & Master / Oasis flower table (Jiří Pelcl), Log armchair and sofa (Jiří Pelcl), SAD dining and office table (Atelier SAD), Dalmatian table collection (Palma de Alma)

  • Sklárna Harrachov / Honey, Hush, and Dot collections (LLEV)

Discovery of the Year 2024

(in alphabetical order)

  • Ivo Jedlička / Tableware collection and project Cooking the Craft

  • Karolína Kučerová / Vase collections Soft Intentions (Křehký), Empathy and Essence, vase Enigma

  • Natálie Navrátilová / Boldi stainless steel cutlery (FABINI) and Office stationery collection (Mikov)

Miniseries of pigment prints

The duo SHOTBY.US has also created a limited edition for the Kunsthalle Praha Design Shop to accompany the exhibition. The collection features a series of Desire prints, each available in a limited edition of just 10 pieces. Additionally, the Desire 1 print comes in an enlarged format, with an exclusive edition of only 5 pieces.

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SHOTBY.US comprises artists Karolína Matušková and Lenka Glisníková. Their work is notable for its unique and personal approach to the medium of photography, creating expressive image compositions at the intersection between playfulness and conceptualism. Building on their artistic education, they approach photography as a creative laboratory, and their research leads to the creation of engaging visual narratives. Their style is notable for its characteristic use of expressive colour schemes, imaginative compositions, and non-conventional concepts which often play with humour and visual mystification. 

The Czech Grand Design Awards are the most prestigious awards given to Czech makers and designers. They have been awarded by the Czech Design Academy since 2006, and their goal is to judge and medialize exceptional works as well as foster awareness among the wider public, thus helping people orient themselves in the world of Czech design. The awards are given to the most outstanding works of the past year in eight categories: product design, fashion, jewellery, graphic design, photography, illustration, producer, and discovery of the year. The winners are selected by the Czech Design Academy, headed by expert juries which comprise curators, gallerists, experts, editors-in-chief, and journalists focusing on design. The juries decide in a three-round voting process, and no application fee is required. The absolute winner is selected by the Preparatory Committee across all the categories, and is awarded the title of Grand Designer. Every year, one eminent figure is also inaugurated into the Hall of Fame for their life’s work in the field of design. 

The awards ceremony for the Czech Grand Design Awards 2024 will take place during a gala evening at the Estates Theatre in Prague on 3 March 2025, and will be televised live on ČTart and iVysílání. 

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