Tadeáš Podracký

Tadeáš Podracký (*1989) is a Czech artist working on the border between fine art and design. He is a graduate of the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, where he studied in the glass studio, and of the Design Academy in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. He conceives his works as demanding experiments in form and material, with which he pushes (and crosses) the boundaries of design objects all the way into the realm of fine art. His works are therefore rather complex sculptural pieces whose surface, like mimicry, masks their original utilitarian function. This hybridity is also evident in Podracký's perception of and approach to the design of objects, whose original purpose he first deconstructs and then reassembles so that it remains only hinted at. As sources of inspiration he draws on shapes, materials and patterns canonised in the history of art and design, which with his approach he turns inside out, thereby unsettling the viewer's eye.

Tadeáš Podracký's work has been exhibited at many international fairs focused on applied art, as well as in galleries and institutions: e.g. at Chamber Gallery New York, Design Miami Basel, FOG San Francisco, Maison et Objet Paris, Mint Gallery London, Mudac Museum Lausanne, Het Nieuwe Instituut, Salone del Mobile Milano and London Design Festival. He is the holder of several international awards, including the “Czech Grand Design” in the Discovery of the Year category and the “AD Design Award Germany” “Vintage Reloaded”. He is represented by Barcelona's Side Gallery, and since 2023 he has been, together with Romana Drdová, the head of the K.O.V. studio (Concept – Object – Meaning) at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague.