Glass is an amorphous material typical for its irregular crystalline structure. In fact, it is solidified liquid. Although the secret of its production has been known to the mankind for seven thousand years, its use as a purely artistic material, capable of capturing the artist’s inner self, is relatively new. It was only in the 20th century, when sculptors first reached for glass to create abstract glass sculptures. Czech glass artists were among the first in the world to erase the line between applied and fine arts. The Czech glass was and has remained innovative, bold, multifaceted, technologically advanced, and perfectly crafted. It is as surprising and variable as the structure of the raw material. For that very reason, it has had many admirers, collectors, followers and imitators worldwide.
Stanislav Libensky´s and Jaroslava Brychtová´s innovative abstract mould-melted glass sculptures as well as unique compositions by René Roubíček paved the way, in the 50s of the 20th century, to hundreds of artists (not only) in the Czech Republic. Central European artists are familiar with a myriad of artistic glassmaking techniques. Although the melted glass sculpture has retained the most prominent position, the Czech glass artists have shown their capacity to make full artistic use of special technology of all kinds, such as free-hand or mould-blown glass, cut glass, engraving, painting, fusing, and other technology.
In the today´s Czech Republic, we have the privilege of having four strong generations of glass artists. For our exhibition, we carefully selected six of them. You may ask which criteria we used… Although the six represent different generations and aesthetic feelings, they have one in common – their drive to gain deep knowledge of the material, which they shape confidently, yet humbly. Klára Horáčková makes impressive crystalline objects from fused glass, Ondřej Strnadel, Martin Janecký, and, least but not last, Martin Hlubuček, prefer kilnworked glass and each of them approaches this hand blown technique in his individual and specific way. Czech melted glass objects will always retain their artistic potential, which has repeatedly been confirmed by Zdeněk Lhotský and his innovative technology called Vitrucell. Petr Stanický combines glass with other materials while retaining the specific properties of this amazing material.
An exhibition is offering only a limited tour of the variety of contemporary Czech artists´ approach to glass, it is no intellectual plaything, but a message about the Czech art glass proactivity and openness. It is truly contemporary. And, since there is no equivalent in the world of the Czech complex system of secondary and university glass art education, we have the right to believe that it will remain so for long.
There are currently four distinct generations of glass artists active in the Czech Republic. We have carefully selected six of them for our exhibition. What was our criteria? Although these artists vary in age and aesthetic sensibility, they are united by a shared desire to understand the structure of the material they work with—confidently, yet with humility. Klára Horáčková creates impressive crystalline objects using glass fusing, Ondřej Strnadel, Martin Janecký, and last but not least, Martin Hlubuček, all focus on hot glass working, though each has found their own specific path. Czech kiln-cast sculpture still holds remarkable artistic potential, a fact further confirmed by the innovative Vitrucell technological process developed by Zdeněk Lhotský. Petr Stanický combines glass with other materials while still allowing the glass to retain its unique properties.
While this exhibition offers only a small glimpse into the diversity of approaches that artists in the Czech Republic use when working with glass today, it is not merely an intellectual exercise. It is a testament to the fact that Czech art glass is not living off its past reputation, nor is it self-absorbed. Quite the contrary.
