The designer and artist Iveta Šalamounová (born Čermáková) studied at the Academy of Arts in Prague (2008-2014) and later in the studio of furniture and interior design at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (2014-2017). At present, together with her sister Monika Cihlářová, who studied architecture, she devotes her attention to interior design, exhibition design and furniture design in the studio called Schwestern.
She developed an interest in the spatial arrangement of exhibitions, including the layout, placement of art works and material solutions, during her studies at the Academy of Fine Arts, where she graduated in the studio of Jiří Příhoda. She subsequently defended her diploma thesis Plinth. Furniture for Galleries and Art Museums (2017) at the Academy of Art, Architecture and Design under the guidance of Jiří Pelc, in which she designed her own exhibition fundus based on extensive study of selected European museums and galleries. This research has helped her to clarify theoretical issues she applies in her practical work. She sees the gallery as a sheltered public space and in her work she strives to strengthen its inclusive potential.
In her exhibition designs she lays emphasis on simplicity, moderation and compactness. The shapes and colours that the duo Schwestern use in their exhibition designs are often based on a certain motive concealed in the exhibited works. They work with it as a meaning-making element that helps to create the atmosphere of the exhibition and contributes to a better understanding. They do not hesitate to include also striking or unsettling elements. However, according to them it is essential that the design of the exhibition does not overpower or overshadow the exhibits but it must become their partner. They also believe that the installation may contribute to the interpretation of the displayed art works. It is equally important for them that the exhibition design is created in a mutual dialogue between all the people involved: artists, curators, graphic designers and others. So far they have participated in the following exhibitions: Žádný pocit netrvá věčně (No Feeling is Final). Sbírka solidarity ve Skopji (The Skopje Solidarity Collection (2023, National Gallery in Prague), Věra Jičínská (2023, Gallery of Modern Art, Hradec Králové), Jitka and Květa Válová. Cesta předurčena osudem (A Path Destined by Fate) (2022, GASK, Kutná Hora), Těsné formy (Tight Forms) (2021, East Bohemian Gallery, Pardubice), Nejedna rodina (Many a Family) (2020, 8smička, Humpolec), New Wave. Graduates of AVU (2017, Veletržní palác, National Gallery in Prague) and they also created a site-specific installation called Rozhledna (Watchtower) (2023, Kunsthalle, Prague).
At present they are preparing an exhibition of works by František Mertl at the Riding School of Prague Castle (2025). Iveta Šalamounová occasionally moves into a purely artistic position, in which she also thematizes the gallery environment and human perception: in 2016 together with Eliška Perglerová she materialised a project dealing with a mobile exhibition space (Galerie Jedna hodina, 2016) or in 2024 they created an intervention Plinths in 8smička in Humpolec.
