Petr Pudil, collector and founder of Kunsthalle Praha

A decade ago, an entrepreneur bought a decommissioned power station located in a prime position opposite Prague Castle. Investing some $40M together with his Family Foundation he regenerated this brownfield site and in 2015 relaunched it as the landmark Kunsthalle Praha, Prague’s first non-profit private institution. Samantha Welsh speaks with Petr Pudil about his passion for collecting, why he is dedicated to supporting contemporary Czech artists, and his vision for connecting the local art scene with international art movements.

Former electrical substation, art institution Kunsthalle Praha

LUX: What is your background as an entrepreneur?

Petr Pudil: I am co-founder of BPD partners, leading family office in Prague. The BPD partners group actively seeks out companies with promising scientific and technological backgrounds. The priority is projects that bring new challenges regarding healthy economic growth and are in line with internationally recognised standards of social responsibility and sustainability.

The former power station redeveloped as Kunsthalle Praha

A stable part of the portfolio consists of long-term investments in biotechnology and chemistry, including investments in basic research, renewable resources, and the construction of environmentally friendly office complexes and residential properties.

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LUX:  When did you become involved with art philanthropy?

PP: My wife, Pavlina, and I started collecting art almost twenty years ago. We have never seen it as a financial investment, but rather as a tool to understand the connections of the world and life through the lens of artists, which is an alternative and enriching perspective for me as a businessman.

Pavlina and Petr Pudil, collectors and cultural philanthropists

By purchasing contemporary art, we also wanted to support living artists. The idea to build a new Kunsthalle in Prague came about approximately 9 years ago.

LUX: How does Czech fit, historically, within the Central Europe art canon?

PP: The Czech lands and later Czechoslovakia have been in cultural contact with many European centres in the past centuries, naturally with Vienna within the monarchy, with Munich, and later in the 20th century, with Paris. As Václav Havel said, Prague has been a cultural crossroad of Europe for a thousand years. Our country is a natural part of the cultural and historical development of Central Europe.

LUX: What was your founding idea for the Kunsthalle Praha?

PP: We founded Kunsthalle Praha as a non-profit and non-governmental institution whose mission is to bring art to the lives of as many people as possible, with a focus on the younger generation. The second part of our mission is to connect the local scene with the international art environment.

LUX: What collaborations and sectors have you enjoyed shining a light on during these two years?

PP: I will highlight two moments. Since opening, our building has seen over 210,000 visitors, with the majority being younger than 35, which is a great result. And then, the introductory exhibition “Kinetismus,” which was created through a curatorial collaboration with Peter Weibel and ZKM Karlsruhe.

Inaugural exhibition November 2022, Kinetismus, photo by Vojtêch Veškrna, Kunsthalle Praha

It was an highly innovative exhibition that involved demanding research and, at the same time, became very popular with the local audience.

LUX: Vaclav Havel, Nobel Prize satirist and first democratically-elected president of post-soviet Czech and Slovakia, is a symbol for many of the trust vested by the people in literature to say the unsayable.  Was the samizdat movement art activism or covert propaganda?

PP: Currently, there is an exhibition at Kunsthalle Praha titled “Read” by Elmgreen & Dragset, where part of the exposition is about Czech samizdat literature.

Installation ‘Point of View’ 2024 at exhibition ‘READ’ by Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragnet

Samizdat was neither activism nor covert propaganda. It was driven by the simple desire of people for information and literature that was denied to them. Naturally, such “forbidden fruit” had a much wider audience than the dissident Charter 77 led by informal leader Václav Havel.

LUX: How has Kunsthalle Praha been received by your peers in the contemporary art ecosystem?            

PP: Kunsthalle Praha is bringing another platform for the presentation of contemporary and modern art to Prague, as well as a space for trans-generational dialogue between different communities. Our goal is to collaborate with other institutions, which we have been successful in achieving so far. We perceive the cultural institution ecosystem as a collaborative, rather than competitive, environment.

LUX: You are an innovator and serial entrepreneur, where else is your focus?

PP: Surely, it is a sport. I try to engage in some physical activity every day, and running, in particular, is an addiction and a way of mental regeneration for me.

LUX: How do you see your foundation evolving as a platform for sustainability in art?

PP: We have sought to apply sustainability principles already during the renovation of the building. It is not a new construction but the revitalisation of a contaminated brownfield in the historical center of Prague. We are preparing an ESG report and striving to exceed our regional peers in all aspects of ESG metrics

Read more: Lazard’s Jennifer Anderson on the Evolution of ESG Investing

LUX: What one tip would you share with a young collector wanting to make a difference?

PP: It is not easy at all to find distinctiveness, it is actually a very ambitious goal. If you want to build a unique, distinctive collection, I would focus on new, digital media. Everyone knows that the digitisation of society must be reflected in art, but we still don’t know how art will respond to this phenomenon, and we certainly don’t know yet how to collect such art.

Online Editor: Isabel Phillips

Czech based desinger Jiri Kalfar on the catwalk launching his Honey Bee collection at LFW

Czech based fashion designer Jiri Kalfar is known for challenging gender stereotypes through his fluid, vibrant designs. In 2015, NYLON named him as one of the hottest emerging designers to watch and his collections frequently grace the pages of Schön!, Tank, Harpers Bazaar and Vogue.it, yet the young designer is more concerned with protecting our planet than his blossoming fame. Millie Walton caught up with Kalfar after his LFW show at L’escargot to talk about theatre, honey bees and the future of sustainable fashion.

Millie Walton: You trained as a ballet dancer, how does that influence your approach to design?
Jiri Kalfar: It is hard to say. I grew up in the theatre. It has been a massive part of my life and I think it actually influences me without even me thinking about it. It is part of me, and therefore part of my work and my design. It is more about a character though. When I design, I do not see the everyday woman hidden and following the crowd. Quite the opposite. I like to give a story to a person. To add to its character and a personality. I love variety and I don’t really understand minimalism. It bores me. Life is a show. Each of us is an individual character with different personal style.

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The Honey Bee S/S18 collection

MW: How would you describe your aesthetic?
JK: Unique. Out of the box. What I do, doesn’t really fit into any box. It is not a street-wear, not (yet) a haute couture, not office wear. Yet, you can wear it for any occasion. It is only up to you, how decide to wear it. What to add to it. What to hide. What size to choose. I like to play. And I love seeing people styling my clothes in different ways. It is the biggest satisfaction.

MW: Which fashion designers do you find most inspiring and why?
JK: There are three whose work and style I admire. Their legacy or how they are approaching fashion, On the top there would be the ultimate king, Alexander McQueen followed by Vivienne Westwood and John Galliano. Strangely they are British. Oh, and Dries Van Noten too.

The Honey Bee S/S18 collection

MW: In past interviews you’ve talked about your interest in theatre, do you think about particular characters when you’re designing? Does that change from garment to garment or collection to collection?
JK: Yes, actually. I like to create a character, a living soul. It can be anybody. But the game is to transform yourself. Into a tsarina, a king, a goddess, a pirate .. for every day or just to glam-up . But still be yourself.

We all wear costumes in some way. A costume which we would bland in into a society. And I like to do the exact opposite. A clothes which would enhance your personality. Society blends into you. Because you are confident enough. Fearless.

Read next: Burberry’s celebrates social portraiture and British spirit 

MW: Your S/S18 collection takes influence from honey bees, why bees?
JK: It is an ecological message actually. I fear what our generation does to this planet. What our legacy will be for generations to come. What will happen to the animals, to the North pole and the oceans. What will be the aftermath of our action.

I am aware I can not save the planet by doing that. I am not naïve but I believe each of us has a voice and can do something to make the world better. So the inspiration for this collection is very simple : Save The Bees! Because they are dying due to the changes of the ecosystem. And without the bees, there is no future, I am afraid.

Jiri Kalfar London Fashion Week 2017 exhibition at L’escargot

Millie Walton: How do you ensure that all of your clothes are manufactured sustainably?
Jiri Kalfar: All my clothes are done ethically, in my studios in Prague. We make everything there. Therefore I know we do not over-produce, which means that the pollution is absolutely minimal. And so is the waste. All my collections are generally zero-waste. Even if we don’t use all the material in one collection, I will use it in the next one or the one after. It is important to me.

Jiri Kalfar London Fashion Week 2017 catwalk show

MW: Do you think that the luxury world is becoming more aware of environmental concerns and what does that mean for the fashion industry?
JK: I hope so. I like to think there will be big boom of sustainable fashion soon. Same as really happened to the food industry. The luxury there is actually to grow your own food or to buy organic. No fast food but slow food. Time became important. The quality over quantity. To know where your dinner comes from. Maybe the same will happen with fashion. To know the journey of a product from the beginning to end. To understand the ethicality and importance of a truly crafted piece. Of its value. The luxury doesn’t really mean money in this case, it means knowledge and consciousness.

jirikalfar.com