At Designblok, Galerie Kuzebauch will present the OFF-GRID Collective, a Czech-Slovak group of five distinctive artists who approach glass not as a traditional symbol of luxury and formal perfection, but as a living, malleable, and autonomous material. The project, which debuted in 2026 at the prestigious curated exhibition Alcova during Milan Design Week (curated by Sylvia Jokelová), is now being presented by the gallery in a Czech context as a statement on contemporary studio glass, its possibilities, limitations, and new directions.
The OFF-GRID Collective consists of Michaela Spružinová, Ivana Zuskinová, Irena Czepcová, Ľudmila Žilková, and David Valner. While their work stems from different artistic perspectives, together they raise the question of how one can work with glass today outside of established notions of technical virtuosity, decorativeness, and perfect form. At a time when glass production is associated with high costs, energy intensity, and complicated accessibility, these artists turn to the material as a partner in the creative process. They allow glass to succumb to gravity, to grow, to deform, and to bear the traces of tools, destruction, time, and physical experience.
The presentation does not create a homogeneous whole, but rather a network of five parallel worlds that touch, pass by, and layer upon one another. In her objects, Ivana Zuskinová captures the transformation of matter as an alchemical process, slowing down internal landscapes, geological layers, and the movement of fluids in time. David Valner works with the motif of organic growth and natural structures that colonize space much like fungi, mold, or parasitic organisms. Ľudmila Žilková (working under the brand MILA ZILA) views glass as an autonomous entity, developing its relationship to space, perception, and presence through its combination with light. Irena Czepcová blurs the boundaries between functional objects and sculptural forms, observing the physicality of glass and the traces of human intervention. Conversely, Michaela Spružinová radically challenges stereotypes of beauty, consumer fetishes, and traditional technological processes through the use of glass waste, beads, and intensely narrative objects.
The curation and production of the OFF-GRID Collective presentation at Designblok is led by Inka Ličková. The Prague debut features a new selection that builds upon the previous presentation in Milan while further developing it within a new context. It will also include brand-new works created specifically for Designblok, which will be unveiled here for the very first time. Here, glass is not merely a material, but a subject in itself: it carries the history of Czech and Slovak glassmaking, questions of accessibility and energy consumption, the memory of defunct glassworks, and a contemporary desire to break free from expected forms.
Galerie Kuzebauch, which has long and systematically dedicated itself to contemporary studio glass, presents the OFF-GRID Collective as a project that expands the perception of what glass can be in contemporary design and fine art.
Inka Ličková
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