Qubus: The Beautiful Beast / Boj s krásou
ABOUT THE book
authors: Marcela Straková & Iva Knobloch (eds.), 2025
graphic design: Kristina Ambrozová
copy editing: Kateřina Bendáková, Karolína Hajdíková
translation: Adrian Dean
edition: Czech-English
pages: 352
publisher: Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague & Qubus Design Studio
ISBN (UPM) 978-80-7101-248-1
This book is the first comprehensive monograph of the Prague-based Qubus studio. It has been published to accompany the studio’s first retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, marking the 25th anniversary of its founding. Qubus is a unique phenomenon in Czech design, combining the functions of an independent label, creative studio, showroom and gallery, as well as serving as a platform for specific ideas. Its unorthodox approach has fundamentally shaped the perception of design in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Qubus has aptly and originally captured the transformation of design since the revolution and has redefined the designer’s role in the contemporary cultural and social context.
The monograph documents the studio’s history, its interior design and exhibition work, and major projects. It looks at how Qubus has become an independent label with a strong visual identity, outlining the context and principles behind how it operates, and highlighting key moments and the importance of its relations with manufacturers. The book includes a catalogue of Qubus’s oeuvre that systematically maps its products to date, together with critical essays that present a broader perspective on Qubus’s position on the Czech and international scene.
The illustrations are arranged chronologically, and the monograph ends with a series of photographs loosely inspired by the work of the Chinese conceptual artist Ai Weiwei. The book also presents in words and images Jan Fabián’s installation of the Qubus exhibition at the Museum of Decorative Arts. This monograph will help to fill significant gaps in earlier research and confirm Qubus’s pioneering status and its crucial influence on Czech design.
ABOUT THE BRAND
The Qubus brand was founded in 2002 by Jakub Berdych Karpelis together with Maxim Velčovský and in the same year they opened the eponymous brick-and-mortar design shop in Prague's Old Town as the first ever design shop in the Czech Republic. The main idea and motivation of Qubus is to design, produce and present Czech contemporary and conceptual design with wit and unconventionality. A number of now iconic design products, collections and works have been created under the Qubus brand and the Qubus brand, the first on the market at the time, has become one of the most popular design studios in the Czech Republic in its 20 years of operation. Qubus products are characterized by their humour and search for new meanings and contexts.
Qubus designers most often work with traditional Czech materials - glass or porcelain, and their hallmark is a humorous play with morphology and function. Central European sarcasm meets commentary on the world around us in Qubus products. They respond to lifestyles, mirror prejudices and reflect cultural and social themes and trends.
Among the products in the Qubus portfolio, we find luxury and everyday pieces that shape taste and push its boundaries. In addition to conceptual and product design, the studio also executes interior design, architecture and free art projects by Jakub Berdych Karpelis and other artists it invites to collaborate.
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