Galerie Kuzebauch is mounting an exhibition of current works by father-son designing team Jakub Berdych and Jakub Berdych Karpelis, titled “Okurková saisona” (Silly Season). Even the supposedly lazy summer season offers an array of fascinating artwork. Silly Season opens from 19 August 2022, with a gala opening event held at 18:00 on 18 August.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jakub Berdych; photo © Gabriel Urbánek

In recent years, glass designer Jakub Berdych (born 1953) has predominantly focused on free-form glass art experimentation. Asides from partaking in regular symposiums, his works have been exhibited – both solo and as part of multi-artist exhibits – at home and abroad.

Recycling in contemporary art

Years ago, Jakub Berdych asked himself the question: “What will remain of us?”. This led to the creation of a series of glass sculptures as part of the “Otisky” (Imprint) series. Former day-to-day utilitarian items, ones hardly expected to be encountered in the world of glass art – Lopatka (Spade), Dalekohled (Telescope), Sporák (Stove) – were followed by others, such as Objekty (Items), which demonstrate a further step towards abstract interpretation by the artist. This is evident in both wrappings and boxes of consumer goods, which tend to be assigned a utilitarian and entirely disposable function. By changing the context, and by recording and contrasting such banality in a noble material like glass, Berdych creates new perceptions. The works are surprising, peculiar, and offer high aesthetic value as sculpted works – with the latest examples on display at Galerie Kuzebauch.

As a glass designer Jakub Berdych, Sr. focuses on the subject of contemporary society from the point of view of the aesthetics of packaging/waste. Meanwhile, his son, Jakub Berdych Karpelis (born 1971), tackles more substantive issues. Perhaps this is the result of having grown up in a free-thinking environment, which served as the perfect incubator for artistic expression. Berdych, Jr., has been developing such talents since the 1990s, when he first entered the artistic scene. Shortly thereafter, he co-founded the Qubus design studio.

Today, Jakub Berdych Karpelis is among the most renowned figures in contemporary Czech design, having also built up a reputation on the international scene. With both his pre-designed and free-form works, Berdych, Jr. displays a strong independent streak, frequently crossing the boundaries of media, technology and material, finding fresh mutual interconnections along the way. Berdych, Jr. enjoys actively developing new, or reviving long-forgotten glass art techniques. Some of these can be viewed as “redesigns” with a characteristic humorous point. Ideas are balanced on the precipice of taste, kitsch, tacky aesthetics and luxury; also in the author’s sights are social conventions and taboos, as well as mining his own life story. Berdych, Jr. is able to use a detached sense of irony to also turn his fire inwards towards the world of art and design.

Jakub Berdych Karpelis; photo © Richard Janeček

As part of the latest Narcissus collection, Jakub Berdych Karpelis showcases his latest creative flourishes via a series of head-like figures that reflect the characteristics of our modern social deviances. Through a masterly utilisation and modification of the technical capabilities inherent in glass, Berdych, Jr. is able to gain inspiration from the likes of long-forgotten lithyaline opaque glass techniques, featuring a semi-precious stone effect, along with the development of his own custom technology, titled qubalín. Moreover, the artist has also developed a special custom technique for adapting crystal and marble via so-called flocking. Another notable aspect is the artist’s work with gold, or his placing of discovered items – reflecting contemporary civilisation – into works.

Cucumber season (in Czech: Okurková sezona, literally cucumber season; and in German: Sommerloch, literally summer hole or Sauregurkenzeit – i.e. gherkin time). In Germany, such an expression appeared in response to the Yiddish expression córes-jókres-cajt (time of heartache and atonement). In Czech, “cucumber season” was used in the press during the second half of the 19^th century, ultimately symbolising the summer season when a lull is often evident in news.

Not a shadow play in the conventional sense of the word – given that no shadows are being cast on a background surface – rather, at play here is a coexistence between light and shadow within the body of a glass art object. Simplistic and increasingly minimalist forms offer few clues to the considerable efforts by Švitorková to meticulously craft her works from the outset of the design phase all the way to completion. Such a mould-melting technique requires complex and sophisticated calculations of the component parts of the given work, factoring in deliberate glass thinning and thickening so as to yield a purposeful interplay of parts imbued with light and shadow. Comparable effects are out of the question through any other type of glass processing technique; which, in itself, serves as a testament to the enduring nature of the choice, by numerous artists, to use such a complex, time-consuming and expensive technology for more than sixty years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prime examples of these fused sculptures are found in the works of glass artists Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová. But numerous other contemporary Czech artists have demonstrated a remarkable dexterity in terms of independently building upon this unique technological approach.  Developments in the field of fused glass continue apace – with little sign of approaching creative ennui. Studio Lhotský s.r.o. in Pelechov, a village by the northern Bohemian town of Železný Brod, has become a key site for the realisation of such works. With its large furnaces, the site offers Lucie K. Švitorková space to both design and produce her works – not to mention working as a production manager for the firm.

The collection of Lucie K. Švitorková sculptures that has been specially created for Galerie Kuzebauch serves as the best possible testament to the fact that this methodology continues to offer plentiful opportunities to those imbued with a spirit of artistic innovation. In the case of this artist, that means polishing the surfaces of cylindrical objects, or of containers and jardinière of various heights, and a delightfully surprising array of internal storytelling whose rays battle to pierce through opaque and transparent glass, including benefiting from the application of a “thick glass bottom” approach. Increasingly, Lucie K. Švitorková has been replacing previous subtle internal décor approaches with bolder “architectonical constructions”, offering observers ever more enticing aesthetic experiences. No wonder then, that top players in the art market, such as the Paris-based Scremini Gallery, along with Prague’s Galerie Kuzebauch, have enthusiastically incorporated the artist’s works into their respective programmes for the year 2022.

As part of the Révélations 2022 art exhibition in Paris, Galerie Kuzebauch will be showcasing a selection of glass artists under the Generation Next banner, as devised by PhDr. Petr Nový, chief curator of the Museum of Glass and Jewellery in Jablonec nad Nisou. Generation Next presents an overview of works by the middle generation of Czech glass artists born during the 1970s-80s. Such artists are characterised by a pioneering and experimental approach that seeks to go beyond the existing boundaries of glass art.

Within the Révélations framework, Galerie Kuzebauch will be showcasing works by four artists that epitomise the concept of Generation Next – meaning an openness to various conceptual and aesthetic forms of experimentation. Artists Zuzana Kubelková, Lucie Švitorková, Ondřej Strnadel and Petr Stanický are all connected, not by a similar aesthetic approach, but rather, conversely, by their variegated natures and insatiable appetite to continue to advance, experiment, and thus to find new paths towards the formation of their respective artistic works. The artists possess highly individualistic approaches towards the glass art craft, as well as highly individual approaches towards seeking fresh avenues of opportunity to break through the commonly encountered limitations of this material.

Zuzana Kubelková, Icy Blue, 2021, blown glass, basalt textile. Photo: the author’s archive

Zuzana Kubelková is a young glass artist chiefly focused on experimenting with glassmaking techniques and materials. Her work has been highly lauded around the world, as evidenced by Kubelková’s receipt of a number of prestigious awards. Among the most recent such honours are this year’s Milano Vetro 35 award. This event, now in its third year, recognises works by the most promising artists and designers aged 35 and under. Zuzana Kubelková  found success with her most recent collection of vases, decorated with abstract art and utilising highly customised techniques. A selection from this award-winning collection will be on display at this year’s Révélations exhibition.

Lucie Švitorková is a glass artist chiefly focusing on the technologies associated with fused glass sculptures. This is a particularly demanding glass art discipline, pioneered both at home and abroad, for example, by the famous duo of Stanislav Libeňský and Jaroslava Brychtová. With her distinctive style, Lucie Švitorková ties in to such past traditions, working in the northern Bohemian town of Železný Brod – just as the famous aforementioned duo – thus contributing to the further development of techniques in this glass art field. The artist’s works are characterised by a minimalist approach towards morphology in her vessels, which, however, contain, upon closer inspection, an array of hidden and highly refined examples of decorative ornamentations and optical phenomena.

Lucie Švitorková, CAVITY II, 2021, moulded fused glass, delustered, polished. Photo: František Nikl

Petr Stanický works with glass in the spirit of an architect. His art comprises specific, self-contained glass spaces that stimulate a range of senses and emotions in observers. Despite often combining materials in his meticulously designed and constructed works, Stanický only rarely subjugates the inherent natural aesthetic properties of glass. Révélations 2022 will feature two works by this artist – a painting and a sculptural work. These will be linked by a material that morphs into an illusion; a true geometric space in an illusive line; one that serves to both supplement and challenge the displayed works.

Organically shaped works by artist Ondřej Strnadel serve as a kind of counterpoint to the architectural approach found in Stanický’s creations. Strnadel studied Industrial Design at the Tomáš Bata University in Zlín under the noted Professor Pavel Škarka and currently teaches at the High School of Applied Glass Art in Valašské Meziříčí. Entirely abstract hand-blown glass characterises Strnadel’s art, through which the morphology of an expanded geometric aesthetic is generated. The final works are both asymmetric and variously deformed, adding an illusion of both motion and fluidity.

Ondřej Strnadel, Black Vessel, 2018, hand-blown glass, delustered. Photo: Gabriel Urbánek

The La Rotation exhibition offers an overview of the works of seven glass artists, all sharing a common passion for creativity, perseverance and artistic excellence. All have made use of archetypal motifs of the kind that have inspired artists for centuries. In so doing, their works transcend those barriers that separate most people in their daily lives – be they geographical, political, economic, creed-based or gender-based.  Indeed, artistic archetypes ultimately serve to unify us all; and their universal significance is intuitively sensed by us too.

We can all distinguish the meaning of the circle, of spinning, and of the cycle of life. Such circular motion symbolises a cycle representing ascent and descent. Time measured through the motion of the hands of a clock also traverses in a circular motion. The years are charted according to the sign of the Zodiac.  Buddhist geomatic mandalas connect man to the cosmos. The planets are in circular orbits around the Sun. And molten glass, too, on the tip of a blowing pipe rotates so as to ensure the smoothest and simplest possible end form known to man. Such spheres, once depicted by alchemists, symbolise both the head and the rose.

Set within the oldest church in the French city of Orléans, and amidst the rays of light penetrating through Gothic glass windows, we find the works of seven glass artists that are at play with our collective subconsciousnesses.

About the authors:

Vladimíra Klumpar and Zdeněk Lhotský are among the most experienced glass artists  displaying works at Galerie Kuzebauch. Both reside and have their own workshops in the Železný Brod area, including glass-melting furnaces and cutting equipment; both are also the pupils of noted Professor Stanislav Libenský and graduates of the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (UMPRUM) developing traditional fused glass sculptures, each in their own particular way.

Zdeněk Lhotský is skilled in realising sculptures of unusual scope,  as evidenced, for example, via a monumental glass sarcophagus designed for the Danish royal family. The artist also devotes considerable energies to developing his own “Vitrucell” glass material.

Vladimíra Klumpar is inspired in his art by nature as well as by architecture and inorganic forms. Representations of the Sun, spirals, alternating gloss and matte surfaces, mechanical erosion, surface structures – all of these have been evident in his work in various forms from the very outset.

Sculptor Alena Matějka creates fused glass sculptures at her own fully equipped workshop situated in southern Bohemia. A student of UMPRUM’s Professor Vladimír Kopecký, Matějka’s works are characterized by a desire to capture stories, sagas and myths. In addition to her artistic pursuits she is a passionate rose-grower – having cultivated a rose garden around her historic property containing hundreds of various rose types from across the globe. Indeed, this horticultural passion also undoubtedly permeates Matějka’s artistry.

Martin Janecký is undoubtedly one of the most talented contemporary Czech glass artists on the scene, using a molten glass hand-sculpting technique to produce sculptures. His head sculptures evoke baroque sculpting techniques with their distinctive lifelike expressions, and are among the most original forms of Czech glass to be seen today.  Martin Janecký has his own studio and glass furnace in the centre of Prague.

Ondřej Strnadel forms molten glass through hand-blowing techniques, achieving rich colours by combining layers of glass. The artist also pays close attention to the exteriors of his works, creating unique matte, even velvety surfacing. Nature serves as the greatest inspiration for Strnadel, with production – from design to final realisation – taking place at his studio in Moravia.

Lada Semecká is inspired by traditional Japanese aesthetics in her works. Semecká spent moore than three years teaching at Japan’s Toyama Institute of Glass Art, endeavouring to infuse her art with a sense of fleeting moments, such as the radiating light of the Sun, the Moon, the traversing of clouds across the horizon, a frozen river, or the motion of water along a riverbed. The artist presently teaches at a university in the Czech city of Ústí nad Labem, seeking to imbue a younger generation with her passion for glass art.

Lucie Švitorková is the youngest artist displaying works at this exhibition. The artist frequently works in collaboration with Zdeňek Lhotský, creating fused glass sculptures at this fellow glass artist’s studio.  Švitorková is unafraid of pushing existing boundaries in the field of fused sculpting, creating unusual and bold forms filled with a sense of the unusual. For example, upon closer inspection, her apparently classically designed glass bowls reveal intriguing secrets…

Galerie Kuzebauch was founded in Prague in 2012 and is dedicated to presenting unique examples of studio glass art by both up-and-coming and established designers and artists. Moreover, Galerie Kuzebauch works to assist such artists to gain visibility both on the domestic and international scenes. The gallery’s prime focus is mounting exhibitions of works by notable glass artists.

More than one-hundred small-sized glasswork studios situated across the Czech Republic enable individual artists to hand-craft and experiment with various glassmaking techniques and to craft unique finished works. The centuries-long tradition of Czech glassmaking is built not only on past achievements, white glassmaking sand, and dexterous craftspersons, but also chiefly on a love of glass and a wealth of knowledge handed down from one generation to the next.

Lucie Havlová, Tomáš Hendrych, March 2022

From 22nd of April to 14th of June, you can visit our Kuzebauch Gallery and see the exhibition from Zuzana Kubelková called Inter Alia.

Zuzana Kubelková (*1987) is a graduate of Ilja Bílek’s renowned Glass Studio at the Faculty of Art and Design, J. E. Purkyně University (UJEP) in Ústí nad Labem. Her art represents the essence of glass art experimentation, rooted in an endless search for the new opportunities associated with this material. Which means interpreting the concept of form in a pioneering new manner, finding ways to integrate glass with non-traditional materials, and utilising groundbreaking technologies to craft the finished product. In this sense, abstract artworks examine the nature of physical strength, including such themes as incursion and destruction; performative kinetic works examine chemical crystal growth processes; and opportunities are sought to process fragile glass textiles for the creation of wearable masks and abstract vases.

Kubelková’s newest series comprises a number of vases and other art objects, collectively titled “Frozen Landscape”. This serves as a follow-up to her previous experimental “Sui Generis” and “El Cuco” series, in which the artist examined the possibilities associated with using transparent glass and dark basalt textiles. “Frozen Landscape” is inspired by a series of abstract paintings that combine acrylic colours and soft pastels (and which also form part of this exhibition). The themes and content of these wall paintings have been transposed by the author into 3D art objects, in which the strokes and lines of basalt fabric on the surface of glass mirror the pastel strokes on the surface of paintings. The exhibited vases have been created via a Swedish “cameo glass” technique. Basalt fabric is stronger than glass when heated, in this case holding its form via a kind of belt-tightening technique that holds in the rim of a vase. Liquid glass and a layer of dye are then absorbed into the fibrous fabric grid enabling the creation of an abstract image on the vase’s surface.