With the works of Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová, the Glass Museum presents two outstanding artistic personalities and pioneers of Czech glass sculpture.
Through their innovative approach, Libenský and Brychtová established a new perception of glass as a sculptural material, which they established at the highest level with their diverse works. In 1958, they were the first artists to present molten glass sculptures at the Expo in Brussels. Since then, glass has increasingly been recognized not only as utility glass or decorative handicrafts, but as a full-fledged medium of fine art.
Brychtová experimented early on with the melting of glass into molds and transferred Libenský's two-dimensional designs into three-dimensional form with the help of clay models. This resulted in sculptural works that redefined light, structure and materiality. Libenský and Brychtová were concerned with geometric shapes and optical effects. Light became a central design element: it penetrates the glass bodies and creates different colour intensities and spatial depth through negative modelling.
Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová are among the most visionary personalities of modern glass art – pioneers who fundamentally changed the world's understanding of this medium and whose collaboration resulted in works that contributed significantly to the development of modern glass aesthetics.
