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.
My friends and I have been enjoying the last two weeks of revelation after revelation of the financial and legal shenanigans of Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) head and recent presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲). Every day brings fresh news — allegations that a building had purchased with party subsidies but listed in Ko’s name, allegations of downloading party subsidy funds into his personal accounts. Ko’s call last December for the regulations for the government’s special budgets to be amended to enforce fiscal discipline, and his September unveiling of his party’s anti-corruption plan, have now taken on a certain delightful irony.
The number of scandals and setbacks hitting the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) in such quick and daily succession in the last few weeks is unprecedented, at least in the countries whose politics I am familiar with. The local media is covering this train wreck on an almost hourly basis, which in the latest news saw party chair Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) detained by prosecutors on Friday and released without bail yesterday. The number of links collected to produce these detailed columns may reach 400 by the time this hits the streets. To get up to speed, two columns have been written: “Donovan’s
President William Lai’s (賴清德) vision for Taiwan to become an “AI island” has three conditions: constructing advanced data centers, ensuring a stable and green energy supply, and cultivating AI talent. However, the energy issue supply is the greatest challenge. To clarify, let’s reframe the problem in terms of the Olympics. Given Taiwan’s OEM (original equipment manufacturer) roles in the technology sector, Taiwan is not an athlete in the AI Olympics, or even a trainer, but rather a training ground for global AI athletes (AI companies). In other words, Taiwan’s semiconductor ecosystem provides world-class training facilities and equipment that have already attracted
Despite her well-paying tech job, Li Daijing didn’t hesitate when her cousin asked for help running a restaurant in Mexico City. She packed up and left China for the Mexican capital last year, with dreams of a new adventure. The 30-year-old woman from Chengdu, the Sichuan provincial capital, hopes one day to start an online business importing furniture from her home country. “I want more,” Li said. “I want to be a strong woman. I want independence.” Li is among a new wave of Chinese migrants who are leaving their country in search of opportunities, more freedom or better financial prospects at a
RSS