In the context of world events, modern Czech art glass has been remarkable from the very beginning not only for its creative ambitions, distinctive aesthetics or technological innovations, but also for the prominent role of women artists. Thanks to its wholeness it therefore offers perspectives and paths leading beyond the superficial gender stereotypes that from time to time push activistically to the surface in various parts of the planet. Several generations of visionaries have come, and continue to come, with their ideas that give meaning and content to the term contemporary Czech studio glass. Eva Vlčková is among them.
A graduate of the Secondary Industrial School of Glassmaking in Železný Brod and of the glass studio at Prague's UMPRUM, she achieved a significant international award, the Bavarian State Prize, already during her studies. She has modelled and melted her objects herself for many years, collaborating with the best Czech glass cutters on the finishing. Since the early 1990s she has presented her work at numerous exhibitions, primarily in Europe and the USA, but also in Asia and Africa. Her works are part of museum and gallery collections in the Czech Republic, Spain, Germany and Denmark, and are also represented in prestigious private collections.
The classical Greek philosopher Heraclitus left behind the statement “everything flows”. By this he meant that we never step into the same river twice. In the case of Eva Vlčková's glass objects, this saying can serve as a metaphor defining her aesthetic. Dynamically merging shapes floating through an all-embracing space, sometimes varied but never the same, exploring the interaction of bodies, giving light to shadow. These are compositions thought out in detail, often probing the limits of melted glass sculpture as a material, appearing calm and restless at the same time, evoking pent-up energy. In this they are exceptional, exciting and almost magically attractive, safely dangerous.
Petr Nový, curator of the exhibition
