Contemporary Slovakian Glass Art Exhibition 14. APRIL – 26. JUNE. 2011

1. Press release
The Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Riga in cooperation with the Museum of
Decorative Arts and Design in Riga presents the exhibition Contemporary
Slovak Glass Art – a Selection assembled and curated by Palo Macho, Patrik Illo
and Zora Petrášová.
The exhibition features oeuvre of 14 Slovak authors, graduates from The
Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava. Artistic glass making in
Slovakia in then Czechoslovakia had evolved in parallel with the Czech glass
making.
In 1965 the Department of Glass in Architecture was established at the
Academy of Fine Arts and Design with Václav Cígler becoming its first
professor. Askold Žačko, Juraj Gavula and Viktor Oravec followed later as
heads of this Department. Nowadays, it is headed by Patrik Illo.
The creation of the Department of Glass in Architecture had a tremendous effect
of promoting glass to sculptural substance for creating artistic artifacts.
The exhibition offers several views into various authentic approaches, different
postures and philosophy of perception of glass making in Slovakia.
Miloš Balgavý studied under Václav Cígler. He creates minimal geometrical
objects from glass, based on neat shapes, optical perfection of material, precise
technique of grinding and polishing allowing him to achieve conceptual
compositions – architectural objects in space.
Drahomír Prihel and Viktor Oravec studied and graduated under Askold Žačko.
Drahomír Prihel´s technique includes grinding and melting. He creates inner
space, works with reflection of inner structures.
Viktor Oravec as a member of conceptual group P.O.P. in the late seventies and
mid eighties of the 20th c. creates installations and performance. He uses flat
glass, accidentally found fragments resulting in creation of final artifacts.
Slavomír Bachorík, František Csandal, Patrik Illo, Palo Macho and Ivica
Markovičová studied and graduated from Academy of Fine Arts and Design
under Juraj Gavula who became head of the Department of Glass after „The
Velvet Revolution“ in 1989.

2. Slavomír Bachorík creates sculptures from various materials. Glass for him
represents a sculptural substance bringing light and transparence to plastic art.
František Csandal uses melting and grinding technique, he shifts the significance
of materials and creates spontaneous inner space in glass.
Patrik Illo presents his design work. He is the top designer of Rona a.s. in
Lednické Rovne, the biggest glass making factory in Slovakia. At the same time,
he is head of the Department of Glass at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design
in Bratislava.
Palo Macho paints and draws on melted sheet glass. He arranges paintings in
layers which enables him to create paintings in space.
Ivica Markovičová seals various materials into sheet glass creating structured
and graphic compositions.
Lenka Šimonyiová studied and graduated under Viktor Oravec. She creates from
sheet optical glass. She makes objects based on optical effects of glass by
cutting, grinding and polishing.
Zuzana Rudavská graduated from The Prague Academy of Fine Arts. She
creates paintings and objects from various materials.
Ján Zoričák studied at The Prague Academy of Fine Arts under Václav Plátek.
He graduated under Stanislav Libenský. His creation makes him one of the most
remarkable glass makers in the world. He lives and works in France.
The exhibit gives a chance to present actual concepts and tendencies of
graduates and just graduates from The Academy of Fine Arts and Design
/Tomáš Ondrušek, Danica Balgavá/ seeking new evaluation of technological and
esthetic principles of work with glass substance.
The exhibition in Riga will last until June 26, 2011 and will be later displayed
also in other northern European cities.
Zora Petrášová