Ever since Bohemia replaced Venice as the world's top glass-making town in the 17th century, Czech glass has become synonymous with fine quality. However, it was not until 50 years ago that the studio glass movement in Czechoslovakia transformed glass works from decorative to fine art. Behind this breakthrough in glassmaking was Stanislav Libensky.
Libensky and His School, (布拉格之玻光璃影) a touring exhibition which opened yesterday at Taipei Fine Arts Museum, pays tribute to the glass sculptor who died of lung cancer in February at the age of 80.
Forty-three artists contribute to the exhibition of 118 works. All of them were Libensky's students. Head of the Specialized School of Glassmaking in Zelezny Bord and of the Academy of Decorative Arts in Prague, the two major schools for glassmaking, Libensky had great influence on the Czech glassmaking scene.
PHOTO COURTESY OF TFAM
Integrating light into his glass works, Libensky once said that glass, being translucent, is the vessel of light. A successful glass sculptor knows how to direct light into the interior of a piece of glass to create a fourth dimension.
Sometimes, this means a subtle cut in the right place. Bretislav Novak Jr.'s Unusual Plate would have been a plain blue surface but for two slight curves cutting the plate halfway. The slight hollow plays tricks with light and creates brilliant layers of blue.
"Czech glass works are quite low-key compared with the colorful and glamorous Italian glass. The works look simple at a glance but show their ingenuity through one tiny detail in an otherwise neglectable place," said Wang Xia-chun (
Works like Petr Nemec's Object 1 and Ilja Bilek's Glaze integrate light to highlight their geometrical structure.
These large works seem simple but were in fact technically challenging, according to Wang, a glass artist with Tittot.
Moreover, Libensky and his students make use of glass pieces of various thickness to create optical magic.
Ladislav Oliva Jr's Gate to the Sees was inspired by footprint fossils of prehistoric animals. The different thickness in different parts of the the moss-green glass piece creates various shades of green, bringing the footprint to life.
There was one Libensky work on show. Collaborating with his wife Jaroslava Brychtova, as in most of his works, Libensky reflected on his fate after being diagnosed with cancer in Vestment II.
"Together with the endangerment of one of our lives, I realized that we have in ourselves an energy that helps us handle desperate situations. The light in out sculptures became the light of my hope," Libensky was quoted as saying last year.
Devoid of vibrant color, the grey glass piece is cut through by a tunnel that lets in light, which appears to edge ahead amid the murky surroundings. The sublime work illustrates Libensky's glass theory.
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