DEDICATED TO THE GLASSMAKERS OF BOHEMIA WHO HAVE MADE THEIR COUNTRY FAMOUS ALL AROUND THE WORLD THE CZECH ART OF GLASS ASSOCIATION PRESENTS CONCERTO GLASSICO DEDICATED TO THE GLASSMAKERS OF BOHEMIA WHO HAVE MADE THEIR COUNTRY FAMOUS ALL AROUND THE WORLD The Greek mythical hero Prometheus stole fire from gods and brought it to people. The myth seems to live on in the persons of glassmakers. They take from fire a glowing message, add their breath, the pulse of their hearts and the art of their hands to the molten matter, in order to pass it on – to people. Glass belongs to the noblest materials which man has begotten with the help of Concerto Glassico Project Management: Jiří Říha, President of THE CZECH ART OF GLASS Association nature. Like all things born of fire, glass, too, has its adventure and magic. Though Concerto Glassico Project Executive Manager: people were able to define its chemical composition and physical propertiesn ages Dalibor Šilhavý ago, it remains a mystery. www.czechartofglass.com We can control glass in thousands of ways, yet we keep on discovering further veils Marketing concept, idea, exposition scenario: Ladislav Kopecký, Createam, s.r.o. and behind them new forms of its beauty. The glassmaker´s hot breath and firm Artistic concept, creative development and design: Yveta Absolonová, Createam, s.r.o. hands can tame it for just a while – the next moment it slips his grasp, and while www.createam.cz staying within reach, it disappears in the infinite space of fantasy. Cooperating on the Concerto Glassico project: It is in linkage and synergy of craftsmanship, creativity and modern technologies Pavel Kopáček, President of Union of Glass and Fashion Jewellery Producers (SVSB) – creative workshops and retail sale that the secret of the fame of Czech glass and the harmony of the glass concert lie. Martin Fuchs – AV programmes Tomáš Dohnal – spatial concept Cooperating on production: Moser and Ajeto Glassworks – Vetrachord production Rückl Glassworks – production of wooden mould palisade Texo Plus, s.r.o. – creative workshop tent and retail sale furnishings NEC and Image companies – AV technology Rajdlová Joinery – joinery elements TUSCAN PALACE, PRAGUE, 29. 8. – 28. 9. 2014 THE CZECH Art OF Glass ASSOCIatION REGUlar MEMBERS: THE CZECH Art OF Glass Association is the marketing platform of the Czech glass and fashion jewellery industries. The companies, unions, schools and institutions which have come together on this platform seek to look for solutions to their shared MOSER RUCKL Crystal problems regarding creative advancement, development of production and trade, PRECIOSA Lustry and particularly support of exports and employment. LASVIT SKLÁRNA Slavia Special attention will be focused on handcrafted production, added creative value bomma of work and its popularization. BlažEK Glass GranÁT Turnov TOM BOHEMIA Crystal Absolutely essential is the care devoted to glassmaker training, the education RICHARD KANTA - SKLOART and future of the entire branch, as well as acknowledgment of major creative, AVEClara- PETR LARVA educational and innovative initiatives which significantly contribute to enhancing CAESAR Crystal BOHEMIAE the prestige of the Czech glassmaking art. Createam Crystal BOHEMIA Egermann The goal of the Association is to become the upholder of the thousand-year ATELIER žAMPACH tradition of succession, and representative of the standard of modern, high-quality Czech glass and fashion jewellery industries. Its important ambition is to reinstate the position which this industry held in the past, and renew its status as one of the THE CZECH Art OF Glass ASSOCIatION AFFILIate MEMBERS: icons of promoting the Czech Republic brand abroad. The Association will direct its SvaZ VÝrobců skla A bižuterie efforts at ensuring that the glass and glass jewellery-making industry becomes a (Union of Glass and Fashion Jewellery Producers) natural, permanent and important part of Czech culture and its presentation in the Cesty skla (Ways of Glass) Czech Republic and abroad. JIří ŠUHÁJEK VITRÁŽOVÉ MUZEUM (Museum of Stained-Glass Window Panels) STUDIO RONY PLESL KAREL Sobotka THE ASSOCIatION´S VISION HUť JAKUB TASICE (The Jakub Glasswork in Tasice) FLORIANOVA HUť (Florian‘s Glass works) Making sure that within 5 to 10 years, Czech (better known as Bohemian) glass, chandeliers and fashion jewellery will regain the prestigious positions which they held in the past. Creating the perception of Czech glass, chandeliers and Glass SCHOOLS IN: glass jewellery as exquisite, in-demand products which will satisfy even the most fastidious clients and are an expression of excellent craftsmanship, creativity, Valašské MEZIříCÍ modernity of style and irreplaceable, specific cultural heritage. In our country and žELEZNÝ BROD abroad, raising awareness of the Association as an elite grouping which represents KAMENICKÝ ŠENOV Karlovy Vary the best that the Czech glassmaking and jewellery industries can offer, a guarantor SVěTLÁ NAD SÁZavou of supreme quality moulded by creative resourcefulness, high craftsmanship, NovÝ BOR business talent and state-of-the-art production. THE UNIQUENESS OF BOHEMIAN GLASS METHOD OF artistic treatment Systematic work with the glassmaking raw material also necessitated the introduction of new procedures for its artistic treatment. The term “Bohemian glass” The uniqueness of Bohemian glass has been shaped by a thousand years of historic became stabilized and precisely defined when the artistically exacting technique of tradition, the bequest of glassmaker personalities of many generations, by the cutting and grinding was applied to it. country´s natural, economic and social conditions. The sum total of a whole series of factors has created the originality and unmistakeable qualities characteristic of BUSINESS aspect Bohemian glass. Bohemian glass has been traditionally considered an excellent commercial article, on foreign markets regarded as a high-quality brand. Its perception as a synonym Provenance – GENIUS loci for top quality and specificity is here to stay. Bohemian glass has passed through It is the place and its spirit, the singularity of the conditions and atmosphere of the periods of great expansion abroad, starting as early at the 17th century, when it given region that are absolutely essential for things to become unique. Bohemian conquered the European cut glass market. Trading in Bohemian glass became a glass has become the brand-name product of its country; it achieved originality of mark of business talent and inventiveness, quality and reasonable price, as well character and unmistakability of style, to which the material and the glassmakers´ as organisational skills. Bohemian glass dealers were often the first Czechs doing art contribute in equal part. business in distant lands, for instance in Latin America. National aspect THE glassmaker´S personality Bohemian glass is undoubtedly an expression of national genius rooted in the To a large degree, Bohemian glass owes its success and uniqueness to the craftsmanship and artistic feeling of the people who have been creating it in the personalities, craftsmanship and artistic feeling of its makers. Their discipline, course of many centuries. For a product to be original, it needs to be made in sensitivity, imagination, grasp of the substance and shape of the material have objective conditions with a sufficiency of raw materials, the interest of society in often been the best guarantee of quality. Czech master glassmakers significantly its production, and demand for it. These objective pre-requisites then influence the influenced the development of glassmaking on a world scale. subjective factor, namely a certain manner of thought as concerns the technique, choice of material or artistic approach. Aspect OF Quality In the sum total of the elements participating in its shaping and production, CZECH style Bohemian glass has become a concept signifying high quality. The style of Bohemian glass is characterised by organic harmony of the substance and its outer shape and decoration. Sometimes it accentuates the shape, a specific technique or elements stemming from the special nature of the domestic environment. The term “style” (“having a style”) is also used in the purely artistic sense, when referring to a set unified in terms of style and unity of approach. Raw material, material When speaking about Bohemian glass, we also mean the special quality of the raw material from which it is made. The term “Bohemian crystal” used to refer to clear glass resembling mountain crystal. As regards its qualities, it was presumed to be the best sort of perfectly decolourized, clear and shiny glass, and of the general properties, its hardness, density and strength were emphasized. The MOSER manufacture was founded in Karlovy Vary in 1857 by Ludwig Moser, PRECIOSA Group is one of the world´s largest manufacturers of crystal stones, an excellent engraver and talented businessman, one of the most significant beads, pearls, and cubic zirconia. PRECIOSA offers also unique crystal chandeliers, personalities of the glass production history in Europe. Shortly after opening his sofisticated lighting solutions, exclusive fashion jewellery, crystal decorations, cut own glassworks he became an imperial court supplier of Franz Joseph I, later also of crystal glass, wine and spirit bottle stoppers. Persian Shah Musaffereddin or King Edward VII of England. Thanks to its originality PRECIOSA is exporting to the most countries in all over the world. Its professionalism and beauty,