Sklo-Sklu-Sklem on view at Villa Becher Interactive Gallery

The first show of the season opened last Friday at the Villa Becher Interactive Gallery in Karlovy Vary: called Sklo-Sklu-Sklem/Glas-Glaser-Am Glasersten the new exhibition is a first foray by a number of Czech and German colleagues (painters, photographers, filmmakers and designers) in working in glass.

A work by Anna Albert, photo: Karlovy Vary Art Gallery

Some 40 works are on display, produced followed a meeting and workshop last year between the artists at the Lamberts traditional glassworks in Waldsassen, Bavaria, not far from the Czech-German border. The aim was for artists to share inspiration and ideas and to unlock some of the secrets of a material they had not used before.

Jan Samec is the head of the Villa Becher gallery:

“The idea was to meet at the glassworks, interesting in and of itself, because they use traditional methods there. Many of us were not familiar with the techniques first hand. It’s an environment that would appeal less, of course, to those who work regularly with glass; but for us it was different and far from routine. We purposely invited artists who would work with glass for the first time.”

Lamberts provided a window into the properties of glass close-up: a view of the material in the molten state, with specialists blowing glass into large bubbles or blobs, before working it into cylinders that are then cut and stretched into sheets. Lamberts is famous for its classic approach and is able to mix clear and colored glass. Jan Samec explains a bit of the process:

A work by Detlev Bertram, photo: Karlovy Vary Art Gallery

“Most of us are familiar with float glass that is stretched in a molten state over a surface and laid out to create a perfectly uniform sheet; earlier, 20th century methods produced a somewhat less uniform product. But at Lamberts they mouth-blow glass, creating blobs of molten glass that are huge.

“In pairs, they then form a cylinder which they cut and are able to create a tableau in the furnace that they stretch. The size of the glass window is limited by human capabilities, but it is still very impressive. They know how to form a half-a-metre to 80 centimeter long sheet.”

Participating artists, unlike the specialists at Lamberts, though, worked with the material only in its cold state: sandblasting, grinding, gluing or cutting the material, as well as photographing or filming the process. The week at the traditional glassworks last autumn was also recorded by documentary filmmaker and participant in the project Alexander Schrott; a clip is up at youtube. The segment begins with church bells and a call to the glassworks, followed by industrial music and glass worked in a variety of ways. The Becher Gallery hopes to produce a somewhat longer version of material shot, in a final form, in the future.

Jan Samec again:

Jan Samec

“Alexander Schrott was involved from the very beginning and filmed the whole process, including how artists cut the glass and so on. We have several versions on DVD and hope to have a final one which should be little bit longer. I think he did it very attractively and it will be evident how constructive the workshop was. The internet clip available now is pretty much an invitation to the show.”

Overall, it is fair to say that Sklo-sklu-sklem was a process of learning and discovery: as such some of the properties of glass, could be respected, enhanced or accented but in some cases provocatively ignored.

“As a painter you use color for its quality of ‘light’ or its chromatic value. You can use both or only the latter. But when you work with glass, you often work primarily with light. You have to take into account whether the artifact will make use of backlight, artificial or natural, or not. As artists in this project we had to decide how to approach the problem. Consequently some of the works produced rely on light for the complete effect, while other pieces are hung against the wall and different properties are stressed.”

A work by Harald Beier, photo: Karlovy Vary Art Gallery

Since all were working with the material for basically the first time, some plans or concepts had to be adapted; but on the whole, those taking part were able to remain consistent to the vision of their earlier work.

“The workshop only last one week but in the second half we got more experience that will be very useful in the future. In advance, we had some ideas and proposals but these had to be modified to a degree based on what we learned. We found that there were certain limits but also unexpected advantages that we had to take into account, or make use of. The next time, theoretically, it would be easier to tailor projects more specifically.”

The head of the gallery also described some of the resulting work now on view in Karlovy Vary, including ‘mysterious’ spaces by Jan Tichý.

“Jan Tichý is a painter from Prague who used sandblasting techniques to etch on the glass. He tried to create an illusion of perspective, what he calls an illusion of ‘architecture’ in which he etched away layers of glass to create almost magical spaces, which made use of intensity and back light. That was very distinctive work.”

A work by Jan Tichý, photo: Karlovy Vary Art Gallery

Last Friday, the vernissage drew plenty of interest from both sides of the border, which organizers hope will continue in the coming weeks and months. The exhibition last until April 9th – a fascinating show which should leave a lasting impact on viewers.

“The whole project brought many of the artists a new impulse: it was important to overcome beginners’ qualms or certain awkwardness at first, when the artists realized they couldn’t do exactly what they wanted. But all the artists involved got into it and spent much more time in the glassworks than anyone expected. The beauty of working with a new material, using new techniques, definitely resulted in new inspiration and new ideas.”