The City of Litvínov, SPORTaS, s. r. o., Citadela cultural centre and event venue, and Lenka Sýkorová invite you to tview a 
rediscovered mosaic by Zdeněk Sýkora.
The official unveiling took place at 5 p.m. on MOnday, 29. February 2016, at Citadela Litvínov (Podkrušnohorská 1720, Litvínov, Czech Republic).  

Mosaic for Litvínov
The story behind the rediscovered Sýkora mosaic at Citadela cultural centre in Litvínov starts in 1967. Zdeněk Sýkora was forty-seven years old and not only was he becoming increasingly well known on the domestic art scene, he was establishing a name for himself internationally as well. By this time he had already had several experiences applying his art in architecture; examples include the geometric compositions he made for the panels lining the gallery of Litvínov outdoor swimming pool and for the fire curtain at Louny Theatre (as fate would have it, both were destroyed when the buildings were later remodelled). This was the year that Zdeněk Sýkora was contacted and asked to work with several different architects at the same time. The interest was in his new works – Structures, which he used a computer to prepare (becoming one of the first artists in the world to do so in 1964). At the time his pictures represented the very latest in modern art, but the Czech scene did not embrace them for long. However, unlike art historians, architects held a different opinion and apparently realised how wonderfully Sýkora’s works would correspond with their projects. And so in 1967 he created three designs using Structures: the first was a ceramic wall along a covered passageway leading from the metro exit on Jindřišská Street in Prague; the second was a glass mosaic on four 20-metre ventilation shafts over Letná Tunnel in Prague; and the third was the ceramic mosaic in the atrium of the Litvínov Cultural Centre. Although the three designs were created in a single year, each is specific and is always in complete harmony with the architectural design. The Litvínov mosaic is based on the building’s unorthodox ground plan, which is composed of a system of intersecting triangles. While the first two designs for Prague were installed within two years, the brown and white ceramic triangles designated for the atrium (custom-made at Elektroporcelán in Louny) had to spend a long time languishing in the warehouse. They were not installed until 1975, by which time Sýkora had already developed a new system in his paintings: Lines, which were based on randomness. The grand opening of Litvínov Cultural Centre was held in 1976 and interes[1]tingly, the interior and exterior of the centre were supposed to feature works by major Czech artists who, like Sýkora, were prohibited from exhibiting: the plans included sculptures by Zdeněk Palcr and Miloslav Chlupáč as well as a painting by Stanislav Podhrázský. A lot of credit for this definitely goes to Sýkora’s friend from Louny and admirer of the arts Zdeněk Karásek, who was the project contractor at the investor (the local chemical factory) and promoted their names, even during normalisation. Although some works were not created in the end, Sýkora’s mosaic had better fortune and found itself in a prestigious location. However, as one learns from the artist’s memoirs, he was not satisfied with the construction itself and there were frequent problems with water seeping through the ceiling around the mosaic. And thus it came as no surprise when we were informed in the 1990s that no mosaic was located in the lobby of the newly reconstructed cultural centre, and we crossed the work off our list of preserved works. What a surprise was in store for us in 2008! At the time we were working with Pavel Kappel on preparing an exhibition of Sýkora’s prints at the city gallery in Litvínov, organised on behalf of the city by Dáša Wohanková. We of course could not avoid the topic of Sýkora’s works in architecture, because in addition to the panels at the swimming pool mentioned above, the destroyed school cafeteria decorations in Litvínov-Hamr and the mosaic in the cultural centre, there was one more project in Litvínov that had still been preserved, though it was not exactly in good condition – a mosaic on the pavement and wall by the shopping centre on Studentská Street. From the perspective of art history, this mosaic is interesting especially given its connection with a similar Sýkora design created for a European art symposium in Gorinchem in 1974; after the mosaic was relocated and mounted with new tiles, it continues to decorate the main square in this Dutch city. In Litvínov, at least we managed to have the pavement and wall cleaned while the exhibition was being prepared. We also delved into the archives of Litvínov photographers and witnesses’ recollections. And an epic discovery was made about the fate of the mosaic! One of the former members of the cultural centre staff, Jaroslav Špaček, recalled that when the atrium was under general reconstruction and the ceiling was lowered, the work was covered up with plasterboard. So we can thank an anonymous, enlightened bricklayer for not chipping the tiles. It took another seven years before the mosaic could see the light of day. But that is already a modern-day story and credit is especially due to Miroslav Otcovský, who during the latest construction work protected the mosaic, had it restored and made sure it would shine again, perhaps even more than at its premiere in 1976.
Lenka Sýkorová, 2015
Text in Katalog

The Litvínov Cultural Centre was designed by a group of Prague-based architects: Jaroslav Paroubek, Radim Dejmal and Jan Sedláček (designed in 1966, construction completed in 1976). The investor was Chemické Závody, the state chemical company in nearby Záluží. The building has been reconstructed several times. Today it houses Citadela cultural centre and event venue.