Show on Plecnik Opens in Tokyo
An exhibition on the most famed Slovenian architect, Joze Plecnik (1872-1957), opened on Friday in a gallery situated in Tokyo's biggest park Ueno. Ambassador Miran Skender told STA that this was the biggest cultural event Slovenia had so far organised in Japan.
"There is a keen interest in the exhibition, because the Japanese are architectural enthusiasts," the ambassador said, adding that interest was considerable in particular among the architects.
The "Joze Plecnik - Architect in Ljubljana, Prague and Vienna" show was first put on at the Ljubljana-based National Gallery in January 2007, to mark the 50th anniversary of the architect's death.
The exhibition showcases the architect's entire oeuvre, along with original drawings and pieces of furniture he designed. It was curated by Damjan Prelovsek, an authority on Plecnik, and architect Eva Prelovsek.
The show in the Art Gallery of the Tokyo University of the Arts will run until 22 June. A symposium on Plecnik is planned for mid-June, at which Slovenian and Austrian architects will present Plecnik to their Japanese peers.
On 5 June, the Slovenian and the Czech embassies will sponsor the screening of a Czech film on Plecnik, "Dear Master".
Born in Ljubljana, Plecnik studied at the Vienna Art Academy and got his first job in a bureau headed by Otto Wagner, who was also the head of the architecture department at the academy.
Plecnik left for Prague in 1911 to lead the renovation of the Prague castle in 1920. Plecnik spent the next 13 years shuttling between Ljubljana and Prague until the Hradcany Castle was renovated in 1934.
He died at his home in Ljubljana's district of Trnovo on 7 January 1957. He is buried at Zale, Ljubljana's central cemetery, which he designed as well.
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