During Collect 2020 (27th February – 1st March) in London, Galerie Kuzebauch will showcase for the second time the exceptional pieces of Czech studio glass, created mainly by a generation of artists born after the 1970s. Their work with glass as a material consists of both differences and similarities.

Klára Horáčková, Evolution Space I, detail, 2018.

The exhibition presents two distinct ways through which the natural world influences the works the few selected artists. Firstly, artist such as Klára Horáčková and Anna Polanská draw directly from the morphology of the environment around them. Inspired by tectonic shifts, the erosion of soil or by natural elements – their pieces represent nature in its purest form, as a force to be reckoned with. The other three artist presented derive inspiration mostly through geometry – an organic vocabulary of shapes, colours and surface structure. Such are the works of Ondřej Strnadel, Petr Stanický and Milan Krajíček.

Ondřej Strnadel, Vessel, 2020.

In the Metaphors of Nature exhibition, Galerie Kuzebauch explores these different, yet connected approaches to glass art in an attempt to find a common reason behind such a powerful inclination to the natural world.

From 24th January to 13th March you can see a new exhibition of Vladimír Klein in Galerie Kuzebauch called The Depths of Contrast.

Vladimir Klein, a graduate of, and subsequently also a director of, the Secondary School of Glassmaking – Kamenický Šenov (SUPŠS), and a student under the noted Czech glass artist Stanislav Libenský at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (UMPRUM), is a globally renowned Czech glass artist. He was the first Czech to teach at the prestigious Japanese Toyama City Institute of Glass, which has since become a major hub for artists from the “Heart of Europe”.

Orange Balls, 2019

As a dexterous and inventive cutter of glass, Klein has developed his own method for decorating custom-made optical glass works, cutting surfaces with the aid of a video-assisted hand tool.In his current art collection, the artist utilised fused glass to a significant degree for the first time. Whereas earlier, his cast glass pieces were mainly based around geometric principles, this new technique has enabled the creation of almost naturalistic shapes evoking huge water lily leaves or slices of exotic plant life.

Orange Boat, 2017

Despite working with glass for more than half a century, Vladimir Klein hasn’t come close to recycling past ideas and we can still see his insatiable appetite for creation.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to our friends, co-workers and partners from all of

Happy Materials!

We will be back in office on the 2nd of January.

You can watch our review of the international conference on sustainability Sketch the Change & launch of the printed issue of Material Times Magazine. Conference is focusing on sustainability in terms of materials and their processing across disciplines. We are preparing the next one for 2020.

How can you be a part of the conference? Become a partner of the Sketch the Change 2020! conference. Help us realize this inspirative and important meeting in 2020.

From 15th November 2019 to 15th January 2020 you can visit our Galerie Kuzebauch and experience the exhibition of Milan Krajíček called Fluidum.

Slowly, 2019

Milan Krajíček is one of the students of Professor Kopecký at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. He then worked as a designer and teacher at the Akademie Světlá nad Sázavou school of arts. After some time he brought forth a notable and original artistic conception – an innovative custom-developed technology of cast glass sculpting.

Negative IV, 2018

With each work, Krajíček continues his journey exploring the possibilities of glass, making works that are on border of both a liquid and solid state. Krajíček is unafraid of deconstructing shapes, or of playing with material concepts and their surroundings, or of merging internal and external spaces. The path chosen by Milan Krajíček is deserving of both respect and recognition.

Unrest III, 2019

From 18th September to 8th November 2019 you can visit our Galerie Kuzebauch and experience the exhibition of Vladimíra Klumpar called Vibration.

Revealed, 2014

After completing her studies at the Secondary Professional School of Applied Glass Art (SUPŠS) in the northern Bohemian town of Železný Brod, Vladimíra Klumpar went on to study at the Professor Stanislav Libenský Glass Studio at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (VŠUP), from which she graduated in 1981. Along with Jaroslava Brychtová, Stanislav Libenský served to symbolise an insurgent contemporary boom in Czech cast glass sculpting – a technology that stretches back to ancient times – but one only finely honed during the mid-20th century in Czechoslovakia.

Smoke, 2018

Vladimíra Klumpar, lived and worked in the US (1985-1998), Mexico (from 1989), and also in the Czech Republic (from 2000). Klumpar’s glass art works, often presented via striking, dominant colours, can be characterised as both dynamic and vibrant.

Leaf, 2019

They possess a kind of internal vibration, restlessness, quivering, thus reflecting a mode of communication inherent to both the planet on which they reside, and the entities who brought about their existence. And such powerful art explains why Vladimír Klumpar is one of the most dynamic contemporary creative forces of her generation – for she does not treat glass as just another material, but rather as a unique natural manifestation; a kind of fifth element.

From 19th July to 6th September you can see a new exhibition of Petr Kavan in Galerie Kuzebauch called A Brief Visit.

Runner, 2004

Petr Kavan (born 1949) was initially oriented towards carving having acquired considerable skills from fellow Czech sculptor Pavel Kostrhun. In 1996, Kavan departed for India, discovering the magic of black granite. This material would completely transform the Czech artist’s approach to his work. His wooden, black granite and copper statues offer a space for a clash between Western thought and Eastern mysticism.

The artist’s black granite statues represent a notable forward-step in terms of his expressive aesthetic. The works’ more abstract and clear lines serve to draw the viewer into a world in perpetual motion

Sisyphus,2000

The central motif of Kavan’s works can be characterised as an encounter with one’s own corporeal nature, and an awareness of one’s own mortality. Works such as Sisyphus, bring viewers into direct contact with the inevitability of human fate. Kavan’s statues offer a similar opportunity to come face-to-face with the futility of one’s own existence. They underscore the fact that life is but a brief visit; borrowed time that one day we will have to return. Kavan incorporates a kind of existential essence to his works, serving as a confrontation with one’s own mortality, and offering a degree of relief to the viewer, stemming from the wider wisdom contained therein.

This year’s issue of Material Times comes with the motto “Let’s focus on the inconspicuous connections!”. On its 130 pages, the readers may be looking forward to photographs and illustrations which aim to show the insignificant connections that appear all around us everyday.

Kristina Veinbender examines the efforts of establishing reuse centers in the Czech Republic. Lucie Tomanová is discussing the topic of waste in an interview with Vladimír Kočí. Tereza Špinková focuses on the phenomenon of dead stocks. František Marčík is dealing with the global climate change topic in his text and he lists the necessary steps to prevent the catastrophic consequences.

“In the moments when we are getting rid of myopia and careless attitude, a vast playground is opening for us. We notice that these connections generate space, where we can exist with others.” says the editor in chief Tereza Lišková.

Photo: Filip Šach, styling: Hana Šradějová

From 31st May to 12th July 2019 you can visit Galerie Kuzebauch and see the exhibition of Jan Frydrych called Optikalita.

Jan Frydrych gained a basic vocational education in glassmaking at the Glass School Nový Bor and then he studied grammar school in Liberec and Pedagogical Faculty in Ústí nad Labem. After that he worked as a teacher at numerous schools in Europe. He became famous because he mastered the skill of cutting optical glass and since the 1980s he is regularly exhibiting his work all around the world. His works are part of private collections of celebrities like Bill and Hillary Clinton, Elton John and Shirley Temple.

In Frydrych sophisticated cut and laminated glass, a minimalistic combination of transparent, indigo blue – and occasionally red – glass plays a crucial role. The precision of workmanship is breathtaking and it shows Frydrych’s manual adroitness that makes his works a true art.

Galerie Kuzebauch will make its third appearance at Révelations fair in Paris with its exhibition Sculpting in Glass. The exhibition will be located in Grand Palais, stand F1.

The idea behind the curator’s pick is to draw attention to the current trends in glassmaking towards experimentation and challenging boundaries. Their approach to glass primarily involves sculpting their material of choice.

Martin Janecký comes from a family of glassmakers and was literally raised with glass. He became famous when he mastered a technique called „inside sculpting“ – the shaping of a steaming hot glass bulb from inside.

Martin Janecký, Head

Anna Polanská graduated at UMPRUM in Prague and currently heads the departement of cut glass at the famous glassmaking school in Železný Brod. In her set of glass vases, she evokes the structure of honeycombs and points out the contrast between nature and her work.

Anna Polanská, Brown

Josef Divín teaches glass design in Valašské Meziříčí and at Prague’s UMPRUM. His lightweight objects also resemble nature. It is obvious from the maps created from melted silver foil attached to the surface of the vases or by the cut necks of the vases.

Josef Divín, Vessels

The fourth artist presented by Kuzebauch Gallery is Ondřej Strnadel who studied industrial design at the Tomáš Baťa University in Zlín and now teaches at the glassmaking school in Valašské meziříčí. His hand-blown objects are purely abstract. He uses asymmetrical interventions to create the illusion of motion and fluidity.

Ondřej Strnadel, Soap