National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library - Glass Behind the Iron Curtain

National

Czech & Slovak

Museum & Library

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Past Exhibits

Glass Behind the Iron Curtain: Czech Design, 1948-1978

February 23, 2003 through September 28, 2003.

This powerful exhibition was drawn from the permanent collection at The Corning Museum of Glass (CMoG) in Corning, New York. The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library has been the only place you can see this fantastic exhibition outside of New York state.

The exhibit explored glass design in Czechoslovakia during a time of limited artistic freedom. When the Communist Party gained control of Czechoslovakia in 1948, painters, sculptors, and graphic artists were closely monitored, and ran the risk of persecution for creating non-approved abstract art. Glass design, however, was largely overlooked. Artists working in glass were allowed to continue their activities relatively unhindered because glass was not considered a potentially subversive medium; some painters and sculptors migrated to the world of glass. This period in Czech glass is characterized by innovative designs that document an important "underground" stage in Czech abstract art that would otherwise be unknown.

"Modern Czech glass is just now beginning to receive the recognition it deserves," said Tina Oldknow, curator at the CMoG. "Sealed off from the West for decades, with only intermittent periods of exposure, the work of Czech artists and designers from the third quarter of the 20^th century can now be fully appreciated."

The special focus of this exhibition was an important suite of drawings from the 1950s through the 1970s, acquired by the Rakow Research Library of The Corning Museum of Glass, some of which served as the original sketches for the glass in the exhibition. Featured artists included Václav Cigler, Jirí Harcuba, Vladimír Kopecký, Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová, René Roubícek, and František Vízner, as well as Antonín Drobník, Bohumil Eliáš, Josef Hospodka, Pavel Hlava, Vladimír Jelinek, Jan Kotík, Véra Lišková, Adolf Matura, Ladislav Oliva, Václav Plátek, Miluše Roubícková, and Ludvika Smrcková.

"The works featured in this exhibition document the remarkable artistic vision, energy, and courage of Czechoslovak artists," said Oldknow. "The artists worked under highly repressive conditions. To exhibit their work, they needed to cooperate with a political regime that demanded that art follow the dictates of Socialist Realism, a strictly narrative, representational style used to depict politically-approved subject matter. To be true to themselves, they needed the ability to create what they wanted, free from the constraints of political ideologies. And, in glass, they found a way to do this."

For an interview with featured glass artist Jirí Harcuba, go to http://www.glassrevue.com/news.asp?nid=1746

For a comprehensive timeline that chronicles the history of Czech glass art, go here.

Image Gallery - Glass Behind the Iron Curtain: Czech Design, 1948-1978

Red Flower
Stanislav Libenský (1921-2002) and Jaroslava Brychtová (b. 1924)
Železný Brod, designed in 1973, made in 1976
Mold-melted glass
Collection of The Corning Museum of Glass (81.3.38)
Gift of the artists

In 1950, Jaroslava Brychtová joined the design studio of the glassworks at architectural glass Železný Brod, directing the department. Working with her father, the sculptor Jaroslav Brychta, she began to experiment with casting, molding, and melting glass during the 1940s. In 1954, Stanislav Libenský joined Brychtová in Železný Brod, and together they developed and refined their unique mold-melting technique.

With this technique, the two artists worked at translating abstract concepts into glass, such as their notion of the fourth dimension, which they create with light. Their artistic approach is influenced by early 20th-century Czech Cubism and metaphysical philosophy. Of all Czech artists working in glass, Libenský and Brychtová have been the most influential worldwide. The revolutionary nature of their work was first appreciated by American and European studio glass artists at Expo 67 in Montreal, where they exhibited several important large-scale sculptures. In the 1970s, when American artists were just beginning to realize the sculptural potential of glass, Czech artists like Libenský and Brychtová were already way ahead of them, but their work was not seen. It was not until the 1980s that their status as pioneers in the field of glass sculpture became internationally recognized.

Vase with Stylized Animals
Jirí Harcuba (b. 1928)
Blown and engraved glass
Prague, 1958
83.3.230
Collection of The Corning Museum of Glass

The decoration of this vase illustrates one of Jiri Harcuba’s characteristic approaches to engraving. In contrast to traditional Czech engraving, where complicated subjects are often elaborately and deeply cut, Harcuba’s design is reduced to its simplest elements, and just lightly scratched intro the surface of the glass. Harcuba believes that engraving should be as spontaneous as possible in order to preserve and communicate the energy of the design. One of his methods is to draw on the surface of the glass, rather than to sculpt it. A renowned engraver and teacher, Jirí Harcuba learned engraving at a local training school in Harrachov before attending the Specialized School of Glassmaking in Nový Bor from 1945 to 1948. He then worked in the studio of the Karel Štipl at Academy of Applied Arts in Prague, until 1954. Karel Štipl, and especially Josef Kaplický, were important and respected teachers at the Academy of Applied Arts. In 1961, Harcuba began his career as a teacher at the Academy of Applied Arts, and he was invited to teach at the Royal Academy of Art, in London, from 1965 to 1966. In the early 1970s, he was fired from his teaching job at the Academy and he was held as a political prisoner for designing a medal that openly criticized the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Russian troops. Despite his troubles with the Communist Czech government, he received many awards. In 1965, 1968, 1971, and 1976, he placed first in competitive exhibitions in Czechoslovakia, and he was invited to participate in Expo ’67 in Montreal. The American Numismatic Society honored Harcuba in 1988 for lifetime achievement in the art of medals. The Corning Museum of Glass presented him with the Rakow Award for Excellence in the Art of Glass in 1995. In the last 20 years, his work has been exhibited in galleries and museums in Europe and the United States. Harcuba is the last outstanding portrait engraver in Europe and he holds workshops at glass studios around the world to pass on the difficult techniques of glass engraving to a new generation of artists.

Vase with Abstract Decoration
Vase with abstract decoration
Vladimír Kopecký (b. 1931)
Mold-blown and enameled glass
Prague, 1959
83.3.233 Collection of The Corning Museum of Glass

Vladimír Kopecký trained at the Specialized School of Glassmaking in Kamenický Šenov in 1946 and then moved to Nový Bor, completing his studies there in 1949. He joined Josef Kaplický’s studio at the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague and graduated in 1956. Kopecký transferred his knowledge of and skill in painting and graphic arts to his work in glass. Under Kaplický’s tutelage, which encouraged freedom of artistic expression, Kopecký executed a series of enameled vases, like the one you see here. These vases were described by Kaplický as representing "new thinking in glass." Kopecký received a gold medal for his work at Expo ’58 in Brussels. Early in his professional career, Kopecký began to consult regularly with architects, designing panels and wall mosaics. He continued to apply his preferred techniques of etching and painting to sheet glass in architecture. His large, brightly colored, stained glass window, on display at Expo ’67 in Montreal, demonstrated his original and independent viewpoint.

Sculpture
René Roubícek (b. 1922)
Blown glass
Nový Bor, about 1960
99.3.48 Collection of The Corning Museum of Glass
Gift of The Steinberg Foundation

René Roubícek is another Czech artist who disguised his obvious interest in abstract art in glass design. This 1960 sculpture is humorous, but its intent is serious. Like Jirí Harcuba, Roubícek used glass as expressively as possible. While Harcuba focused on engraved decoration, Roubíèek experimented with the actual form of the glass, creating shapes that look spontaneous but are actually very difficult to make.

The cooperation between Czech artists and glassmakers had its challenges. Most glassworkers, because they had no motivation to do otherwise, preferred to avoid trying new or difficult techniques. Many artists had to convince the glassblowers that their ideas were even executable. There were exceptions to this, however, in glassblowers such as the legendary master Josef Rozinek. Rozinek executed many of Roubíèek’s more difficult sculptural forms in blown glass.

Roubícek studied at the School of Decorative Arts in Prague from 1940 to 1944, in the studio of Jaroslav Holeèek, and at the Academy of Applied Arts with Josef Kaplický from 1949 to 1950. When the government began to rebuild the glass industry after the Second World War, Roubícek set out for Kamenický Šenov to teach in the Specialized School of Glassmaking, where he remained from 1945 to 1952. A jazz musician who impressed his young students, Roubícek introduced revolutionary ideas for the shapes of blown glass and its cut decoration. He worked as a designer at the national glassworks at Nový Bor from 1955 to 1965, and taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague from 1966 to 1968.

Roubícek received a grand prize at Expo ’58 in Brussels for a much discussed, large, abstract sculpture made of multiple blown elements. The Czechs found it necessary to justify this display because it did not conform to the tenets of Socialist Realism, and it was described in its label not as a sculpture, but as an array of different kinds of glass materials. A major influence in modern Czech glass design, Roubícek has worked since 1969 as a freelance artist, often in collaboration with his wife, Miluše Roubíèková. His glass sculpture and vessels have been exhibited continuously over the last 40 years in major international expositions, museums, and galleries.

Vase with Abstract Decoration
Jan Kotík (1916-2002) with the assistance of Cestmír Cejnar, Kamenický Šenov, 1959 Mold-blown, cut, and engraved glass
L.25.3.59 Lent by the artist

This vase, which illustrates the abstract style of engraving characteristic of Jan Kotík’s work, was shown for the first time in the United States as part of the special exhibition, "Glass 1959." A similar vase was exhibited at the 1959 Moscow Exhibition, where it drew unfavorable attention. The abstract style of the vase, which was clearly at odds with the tenets of Socialist Realism, was criticized by the Soviet premier, Nikita Khrushchev. Kotík was not allowed to display his abstract paintings in public from 1948 to 1957. His interest in the applied arts is often explained as a compensatory activity. However, he never accepted the idea that the applied arts were of any less value than the fine arts.

An accomplished painter and industrial designer, Kotík attended the School of Decorative Arts in Prague from 1935 to 1941, studying with the graphic artist, Jaroslav Benda. In 1947, he was appointed head designer at the Center of Folk Art Production in Prague. From 1947 to 1968, he was a graphic designer and member of the editorial board for Tvar, a magazine about artistic activities in Czechoslovakia during the post-war period. From 1949 to 1967, he worked as an independent glass designer, collaborating with the glassworks in Škrdlovice, Nový Bor, Karlovy Vary, Železný Brod, and Kamenický Šenov.

Kotík‘s highly original work was exhibited at the XIth Triennale in Milan in 1957, and an abstract sculpture of painted and stained glass and steel, titled “Water, Sun, Air”, appeared at Expo ’58 in Brussels. This sculpture demonstrated new possibilities for the artistic use of glass. He exhibited his last work in glass, which was a collaboration with René Roubíèek, at Expo ’67 in Montreal. After the Soviet invasion of 1968, Kotík emigrated to Germany, where he spent the rest of his life.

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30 - 16th Avenue SW, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52404-5904

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This page was updated February 28, 2006

	Red Flower Stanislav Libenský (1921-2002) and Jaroslava Brychtová (b. 1924) Železný Brod, designed in 1973, made in 1976 Mold-melted glass Collection of The Corning Museum of Glass (81.3.38) Gift of the artists In 1950, Jaroslava Brychtová joined the design studio of the glassworks at architectural glass Železný Brod, directing the department. Working with her father, the sculptor Jaroslav Brychta, she began to experiment with casting, molding, and melting glass during the 1940s. In 1954, Stanislav Libenský joined Brychtová in Železný Brod, and together they developed and refined their unique mold-melting technique. With this technique, the two artists worked at translating abstract concepts into glass, such as their notion of the fourth dimension, which they create with light. Their artistic approach is influenced by early 20th-century Czech Cubism and metaphysical philosophy. Of all Czech artists working in glass, Libenský and Brychtová have been the most influential worldwide. The revolutionary nature of their work was first appreciated by American and European studio glass artists at Expo 67 in Montreal, where they exhibited several important large-scale sculptures. In the 1970s, when American artists were just beginning to realize the sculptural potential of glass, Czech artists like Libenský and Brychtová were already way ahead of them, but their work was not seen. It was not until the 1980s that their status as pioneers in the field of glass sculpture became internationally recognized.
	Vase with Stylized Animals Jirí Harcuba (b. 1928) Blown and engraved glass Prague, 1958 83.3.230 Collection of The Corning Museum of Glass The decoration of this vase illustrates one of Jiri Harcuba’s characteristic approaches to engraving. In contrast to traditional Czech engraving, where complicated subjects are often elaborately and deeply cut, Harcuba’s design is reduced to its simplest elements, and just lightly scratched intro the surface of the glass. Harcuba believes that engraving should be as spontaneous as possible in order to preserve and communicate the energy of the design. One of his methods is to draw on the surface of the glass, rather than to sculpt it. A renowned engraver and teacher, Jirí Harcuba learned engraving at a local training school in Harrachov before attending the Specialized School of Glassmaking in Nový Bor from 1945 to 1948. He then worked in the studio of the Karel Štipl at Academy of Applied Arts in Prague, until 1954. Karel Štipl, and especially Josef Kaplický, were important and respected teachers at the Academy of Applied Arts. In 1961, Harcuba began his career as a teacher at the Academy of Applied Arts, and he was invited to teach at the Royal Academy of Art, in London, from 1965 to 1966. In the early 1970s, he was fired from his teaching job at the Academy and he was held as a political prisoner for designing a medal that openly criticized the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Russian troops. Despite his troubles with the Communist Czech government, he received many awards. In 1965, 1968, 1971, and 1976, he placed first in competitive exhibitions in Czechoslovakia, and he was invited to participate in Expo ’67 in Montreal. The American Numismatic Society honored Harcuba in 1988 for lifetime achievement in the art of medals. The Corning Museum of Glass presented him with the Rakow Award for Excellence in the Art of Glass in 1995. In the last 20 years, his work has been exhibited in galleries and museums in Europe and the United States. Harcuba is the last outstanding portrait engraver in Europe and he holds workshops at glass studios around the world to pass on the difficult techniques of glass engraving to a new generation of artists.
	Vase with Abstract Decoration Vase with abstract decoration Vladimír Kopecký (b. 1931) Mold-blown and enameled glass Prague, 1959 83.3.233 Collection of The Corning Museum of Glass Vladimír Kopecký trained at the Specialized School of Glassmaking in Kamenický Šenov in 1946 and then moved to Nový Bor, completing his studies there in 1949. He joined Josef Kaplický’s studio at the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague and graduated in 1956. Kopecký transferred his knowledge of and skill in painting and graphic arts to his work in glass. Under Kaplický’s tutelage, which encouraged freedom of artistic expression, Kopecký executed a series of enameled vases, like the one you see here. These vases were described by Kaplický as representing "new thinking in glass." Kopecký received a gold medal for his work at Expo ’58 in Brussels. Early in his professional career, Kopecký began to consult regularly with architects, designing panels and wall mosaics. He continued to apply his preferred techniques of etching and painting to sheet glass in architecture. His large, brightly colored, stained glass window, on display at Expo ’67 in Montreal, demonstrated his original and independent viewpoint.
	Sculpture René Roubícek (b. 1922) Blown glass Nový Bor, about 1960 99.3.48 Collection of The Corning Museum of Glass Gift of The Steinberg Foundation René Roubícek is another Czech artist who disguised his obvious interest in abstract art in glass design. This 1960 sculpture is humorous, but its intent is serious. Like Jirí Harcuba, Roubícek used glass as expressively as possible. While Harcuba focused on engraved decoration, Roubíèek experimented with the actual form of the glass, creating shapes that look spontaneous but are actually very difficult to make. The cooperation between Czech artists and glassmakers had its challenges. Most glassworkers, because they had no motivation to do otherwise, preferred to avoid trying new or difficult techniques. Many artists had to convince the glassblowers that their ideas were even executable. There were exceptions to this, however, in glassblowers such as the legendary master Josef Rozinek. Rozinek executed many of Roubíèek’s more difficult sculptural forms in blown glass. Roubícek studied at the School of Decorative Arts in Prague from 1940 to 1944, in the studio of Jaroslav Holeèek, and at the Academy of Applied Arts with Josef Kaplický from 1949 to 1950. When the government began to rebuild the glass industry after the Second World War, Roubícek set out for Kamenický Šenov to teach in the Specialized School of Glassmaking, where he remained from 1945 to 1952. A jazz musician who impressed his young students, Roubícek introduced revolutionary ideas for the shapes of blown glass and its cut decoration. He worked as a designer at the national glassworks at Nový Bor from 1955 to 1965, and taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague from 1966 to 1968. Roubícek received a grand prize at Expo ’58 in Brussels for a much discussed, large, abstract sculpture made of multiple blown elements. The Czechs found it necessary to justify this display because it did not conform to the tenets of Socialist Realism, and it was described in its label not as a sculpture, but as an array of different kinds of glass materials. A major influence in modern Czech glass design, Roubícek has worked since 1969 as a freelance artist, often in collaboration with his wife, Miluše Roubíèková. His glass sculpture and vessels have been exhibited continuously over the last 40 years in major international expositions, museums, and galleries.
	Vase with Abstract Decoration Jan Kotík (1916-2002) with the assistance of Cestmír Cejnar, Kamenický Šenov, 1959 Mold-blown, cut, and engraved glass L.25.3.59 Lent by the artist This vase, which illustrates the abstract style of engraving characteristic of Jan Kotík’s work, was shown for the first time in the United States as part of the special exhibition, "Glass 1959." A similar vase was exhibited at the 1959 Moscow Exhibition, where it drew unfavorable attention. The abstract style of the vase, which was clearly at odds with the tenets of Socialist Realism, was criticized by the Soviet premier, Nikita Khrushchev. Kotík was not allowed to display his abstract paintings in public from 1948 to 1957. His interest in the applied arts is often explained as a compensatory activity. However, he never accepted the idea that the applied arts were of any less value than the fine arts. An accomplished painter and industrial designer, Kotík attended the School of Decorative Arts in Prague from 1935 to 1941, studying with the graphic artist, Jaroslav Benda. In 1947, he was appointed head designer at the Center of Folk Art Production in Prague. From 1947 to 1968, he was a graphic designer and member of the editorial board for Tvar, a magazine about artistic activities in Czechoslovakia during the post-war period. From 1949 to 1967, he worked as an independent glass designer, collaborating with the glassworks in Škrdlovice, Nový Bor, Karlovy Vary, Železný Brod, and Kamenický Šenov. Kotík‘s highly original work was exhibited at the XIth Triennale in Milan in 1957, and an abstract sculpture of painted and stained glass and steel, titled “Water, Sun, Air”, appeared at Expo ’58 in Brussels. This sculpture demonstrated new possibilities for the artistic use of glass. He exhibited his last work in glass, which was a collaboration with René Roubíèek, at Expo ’67 in Montreal. After the Soviet invasion of 1968, Kotík emigrated to Germany, where he spent the rest of his life.