13 – 17 Feb 2015
Ambiente, Frankfurt am Main, Hall 11.0 FOY02
The Slow! Glass! exhibition introduces a selection of art glass design from the Czech Republic. All exhibited objects are handmade by local artists with unique know-how of traditional techniques passed on from one generation to another, which they further develop. Each object is created from a specific type of glass that gives it its own set of characteristics. Slow movement gave the exhibition its name.
The Czech Republic is the country of art glass. Here, words like tradition, crafts, courage and vision have remained far from empty concepts and generations of artists have worshipped them as the essence of their glassart. The Czech art glass belongs to the top of the world´s offer. The Kuzebauch Gallery´s programme has concentrated on the most creative high quality exhibits having great reputation for both their artistic qualities and craftsmanship of their creators. That is why its curators chose the Czech glass art for this year´s Ambiente fair.
Glass is a mass in motion with no limits but one´s intellect and craftsmanship. A valued piece of art is a result of a dialogue between the artists and the material used, not a monologue of just one of them. Jaroslav Bejvl ml., Jakub Berdych, Martin Hlubuček, Martin Janecký, Zdeňek Lhotský, and Ondřej Strnadel have one in common – they lead their “dialogue with glass” with passion and
have the capacity to both speak and listen.
In the context of this particular exhibition, it makes no difference whether the artist is a conceptualist, a traditionalist, an experimenter ora magician, artists here neither share common view of glass aesthetic nor their values and perception of the world and their art. Together – although with their individual approach (glass itself is composed of many ingredients which, when blended, turn into a magic mass) – narrate the fascinating story of the Czech glass art.
Petr Nový
Head curator, The Museum of Glass and Jewellery, Jablonec nad Nisou
Curator, Kuzebauch Gallery
Hezké věci.