14. 11. 2014 – 31. 1. 2015
Jakub Berdych (*1971) graduated from the Applied Arts High School for Stonemasonry and Sculpting in Hořice. He comes from a family of glass makers. In his art, Berdych detaches himself from the common perception of glass, his associations are surprising and original, and his sense for the final detail is appreciated by both Czech as well as foreign connoisseurs of the contemporary glass art. He refuses to put glass on a pedestal and to worship it. He´d rather play – with his glass as well as the viewer – and his play is refined and kind-hearted, void of malice and ill-will.
The World is round and any place can therefore be approached from many different angles. One can take a direct or a winding route or even decide to walk in an opposite direction. Those attracted to the latter will find a devoted guide in Jakub Berdych. His approach to elements and materials of everyday use, which we know intimately and seek or miss on a daily basis, is unexpected, revealing and intermittent.
Jakub Berdych, founder of Qubus, a design studio, has created a remarkable “ideary” of his designs, a diary in time and space capturing his ideas and contexts he observes. It is a diary similar to that of writers.
Jakub Berdych, a sculptor, designer, restorer, producer, and passionate collector is simply a person who lives here and today. He neither worships aesthetics nor lives artistic dreams of Alice in the Wonderland. His attitude to art and design is unique and carries a message, which is comprehensible also in the international context. That is why he is well represented in prestigious foreign galleries and private collections.
Even though a graduate of the Hořice School of Sculpture and Stone Masonry, whose studio first became famous for its porcelain designs, Jakub Berdych is now devoted to glass. How could one renounce his glassmaking past? Why doing that once the blood circulating in your veins can be oxidised with new ideas? Jakub Berdych´s designs are not simple context-based trifles – just the opposite, his elements and carefully and elaborately constructed designs show excellent craftsmanship and talent for “observation” of the world around us. More than anybody else, Jakub Berdych´s work will convince you that everything relates to everything.
Petr Nový
Head curator, Museum of Glass and Custom Jewellery, Jablonec nad Nisou