Viktor Mácha
Viktor Mácha | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1984 (age 41–42) Prague, Czechoslovakia |
| Occupation | photographer |
Viktor Mácha (born 1984) is a Czech photographer specializing in industrial photography and architectural photography. He has been working on the project The Beauty of Steel, within which he aims to document heavy industry and industrial landscapes around the world.[1][2]
Life and work
He was born in Prague and is the grandson of composer Otmar Mácha. He studied theology and religious studies at Charles University. He became interested in photographing heavy industry during his teenage years; a key influence was his encounter with the Třinec Iron and Steel Works, which he later described as a defining life experience.[3][4]
Since 2006, he has been traveling worldwide at his own expense, documenting industrial operations, especially steel production and related technologies.[5] He primarily photographs active heavy industry sites such as blast furnaces, steel mills, rolling mills, and coke ovens. His work is predominantly documentary in nature and focuses on technological processes as well as working environments. He concentrates on capturing operations that are gradually disappearing or undergoing major transformation in many regions.[6][7] He has photographed hundreds of industrial sites in more than thirty-seven countries, including the Ukrainian Azovstal.[8][9]
Exhibitions
Solo exhibitions
- 2025 – The Beauty of Steel, Industriemuseum Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany
- 2025 – The Beauty of Steel, LWL-Museum Henrichshütte, Hattingen, Germany
- 2024 – The Mills, Zabytkowa Kopalnia Ignacy, Radlin, Poland
- 2024 – The Mills, Ferdinand Colonnade, Mariánské Lázně
- 2024 – The Mills, Cross Club Café, Prague
- 2023 – The Mills, Jiří Mahen Library, Brno
- 2022 – Železiarne, srdce priemyslu, Košice, Slovakia
- 2022 – Huty, Museum of Metallurgy, Chorzów, Poland
- 2021 – The Mills, Centrul de Cultură Urbană Turnul Croitorilor, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- 2021 – The Mills, Muzeul Cineastului Amator, Reșița, Romania
- 2021 – Industriekultur, Haus der Fotografie, Husum, Germany
- 2021 – Krajiny práce, Ostrava
- 2020 – The Mills, Prague
- 2019 – The Mills, Prague; Ostrava; Brno
- 2018 – The Mills, Ostrava; Vinařice; Prague
Group exhibitions
- 2023 – Žofín Ironworks in Moravian Ostrava 1873–1972, Ostrava
- 2022 – 1st Auction Art and Photo Salon, Prague
- 2020 – Workers Die But Work Lives On', Gallery of Fine Arts, Ostrava
- 2017 – HOYM Industry Festival, Poland
- 2016 – Industrial Photography Festival, Poland
- 2016 – Industrial Sights, Prague
- 2016 – Et Cetera, Galerie 1, Prague
- 2014 – Industrial Topography / Architecture of Conversions, Czech Republic 2005–2015, Jaroslav Fragner Gallery, Prague
- 2009 – INDUSTRIALife, Ostrava
- 2009 – 170 Years of Třinec Ironworks, Třinec
- 2009 – Vestiges of Industry, Prague
Publications
- Železo v krvi: ťažký priemysel východného bloku (Čierne diery, Bratislava 2025, ISBN 9788069103030)
References
- ↑ "Gejzír". Czech Television. 2025-02-20.
- ↑ "Jít za svým snem". Czech Television. 2017-06-08.
- ↑ Vinoski, Jim (2024-08-26). "His Stunning Photographs Document Steelmaking All Over The World". Forbes.
- ↑ "Furnace Elegy". Avaunt Magazine.
- ↑ "Vidím na horizontu vysokou pec a jsem ztracený. Fascinuje mě ta manifestace síly, říká fotograf Viktor Mácha". Czech Radio. 2023-12-06.
- ↑ "Krása železa, rzi, ohně a kouře. Viktor Mácha fotí mizející svět těžkého průmyslu". Hospodářské noviny. 2021-07-23.
- ↑ "Blood And Iron: Photographing The 'End Of The Industrial Revolution'". Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. 2017-05-02.
- ↑ "Fotil v Azovstalu: Není to nedobytná huť. Překvapilo mě, že její pece jsou netknuté". Aktuálně.cz. 2022-05-02.
- ↑ "V železárnách se cítím bezpečněji, říká industriální fotograf. Popsal, jak vypadá Azovstal". CNN Prima News. 2022-04-28.
External links
- Official website
- thebeautyofsteel.com – official platform