Martin Ondruš

Biography

Since completing his studies at the design studio of the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno (with Jan Konečný), Martin Ondruš has devoted to set design, exhibition architecture, installations and applied graphic arts. In 1993 he studied at the Theatre Design studio at Nottingham Trent University. Since 2006 he has taught at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno. Within his pedagogic activities, he has held numerous workshops and lectures. He also collaborates as a pedagogue with the Institute of Psychology of the Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University in Brno. Since 2011, within his doctorate studies, he has specialised in the technological principles of Czech set design (Josef Svoboda’s lighting dramaturgy within the context of staging of a Richard Wagner opera: Tristan und Isolde). Moreover, since 2014 he has co-operated with the company Josef Svoboda – scénograf o.p.s., conducting primary research at the set designer Svoboda’s personal archive into the technologies applied in his opera productions. He co-ordinates his lighting-design research with the Arts and Theatre Institute in Prague and ENSATT (Ecole nationale supérieure des arts et techniques du théâtre). He has worked over the long term with the stage director Vladimír Morávek, for whom he has designed sets for productions of Shakespeare’s King Lear (Klicpera Theatre in Hradec Králové, 1998), M. Forman, J. Papoušek and I. Passer’s Loves of a Blonde (Husa na provázku Theatre in Brno, 2007), V. Havel, V. Morávek and P. Oslzlý’s Circus Havel (Husa na provázku Theatre, 2008), David Drábek’s Czech Sea (Husa na provázku Theatre, 2009) and J. A. Pitínský’s Bethlehem, or Great Bowing to the Baby Jesus (Husa na provázku Theatre, 2012). He also created designs for the theatre magazine Rozrazil (2012). In 2013 he designed for the Husa na provázku Theatre (DHNP) the costume procession for The Feast of Masks and created the sets and costumes for J. Kubíková’s production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.  In 2014 he created the sets for the second part of the DHNP’s project Géniové a podvodníci  (Geniuses and Frauds) - M. Štědroň, M. Uhde, V. Morávek: Moc art aneb Amadeus v Brně, the set design for the second part of the cycle of improvisation evenings on the topic Czechs 2014/15, hommage à Zuzana Bubílková – Bubiland (Kabinet Szczygiel – Kozelka). Furthermore, he has worked with the youngest stage directors, including with J. Augustín on his production of Lorca’s tragedy Blood Wedding (2014). In 2013 he designed the sets for Peter Scherhaufer’s stage sketches On the Roof (directed by A. Petrželková) and for M. Votíšek’s play A Still-life at Slovan (directed by Michal Hába). Martin Ondruš has also designed exhibitions for museums and galleries. He has created architecture for the exhibitions The Captives of Stars and Dreams (Municipal Gallery in Brno), The Medusa Gaze (Municipal Gallery in Brno), Prometheus’ Fire (Municipal Gallery in Brno) and The Grocery at Mr. Bajza’s (Moravian Museum in Brno). He has collaborated on dozens of projects for exhibition institutions, museums and galleries (Municipal Gallery in Brno, Museum of Arts in Olomouc, Museum Kampa in Prague, Moravian Museum in Brno, Permanent Exhibition in Brtnice, etc.), and created numerous designs for irregular spaces, including the zero edition of The Feast of Masks on Náměstí svobody square in Brno (2009), in the garden of the Tugendhat villa for Vladimír Morávek’s production of Woody Allen’s play God (2014) and the sets in the digitarium of the Brno Observatory for Morávek’s production of O. Novotný’s play Divnej Brouk aneb kdo zabil Johna Lennona (A Peculiar Beetle, or Who Killed John Lennon).