CGD

Markéta Kratochvílová graduated from Studio K.O.V., headed by Eva Eisler, at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. She moves on the boundary between jewellery, clothing and fine arts. It is the intrinsic nature of her work that one rather gets dressed into her extravagant objects instead of merely putting them on, as is otherwise the usual case with jewellery. Her collections successively explore various materials, which the designer treats in a sculptural way and examines the ultimate possibilities of how to process them. Even provided the large volumes and materials very non-traditional for jewellery, Markéta is perfectly capable of achieving the impression of lightness and delicacy.

The jewellery created for the collection of Kateřina Plamitzerová, nominated in the section Fashion Designer of the Year, excellently develop on Kateřina's inspiration by the heroine of the Japanese anime, Mononoke, and simultaneously, by the raw and wild beauty of the deserted Šluknov region, the northernmost one in the Czech Republic. The face masks and voluminous neck and body pendants are made of, among other things, climbing ropes and metal snap-hooks, hard-wearing textile straps and plastic protectors. Combined with gentle corals and tassels, they nevertheless look romantic and tender, although there is still the artist's generous scale and touch of expressive experiment and fetish. And there is also wood, lathed during Markéta's sojourn to China. The shapes are based on baby bamboo and lotus root. The collection of necklaces and masks for Art House, entitled Dragon Spirit, is also inspired by the designer's Asian travels and reflects the coexistence of supermodern society and traditional culture. Its morphology is derived from the strength and persistence of the female Korean pearl hunters and Chinese paper umbrella binders.

Veronika Ruppert