Libenský and Brychtová were revolutionaries in the glass world, redefining glass as a sculptural medium and thinking of it first and foremost in terms of light rather than space, mass, or color. As Libenský so eloquently explained: “There is an illuminating space within this material that doesn't exist in any other medium.” Their vision helped to fundamentally shape the world of contemporary glass and their creations are widely considered to be some of the most influential and important glassworks ever made in the 20th and 21st centuries.
The present lot (and all other works entitled Eye of the Pyramid) was a study for the artists' monumental Green Eye of the Pyramid. The sculpture began as a drawing prior to being translated into a clay sculpture, followed by molds, and then finally cast glass.
Glass is light. We introduce the light dynamic into the centre of the glass mass. That is the definition of the fourth dimension which cannot be achieved in any other material.
Jaroslava Brychtová
Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová
Glass-casting juggernauts Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová were hugely influential in the international studio-glass movement. Both studied at VŠUP (Prague Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design), after which Libenský became the director of the Specialized School of Glassmaking at Železný Brod and Brychtová founded the Center for Architectural Glass at the same school. It was there that she and Libenský met and the rest, as they say, is history.
They began collaborating in 1954 and were married in 1963. Libenský attributed their successful artistic partnership to the fact that he had trained as a painter, and she as a sculptor. Their combination of strengths is evident in the powerful lines and rich colors of their work. The duo went on to craft not only some of the defining cast glass sculptures of the 20th and 21st centuries, but architectural installations as well, including two windows for the St. Wenceslas Chapel at Prague’s St. Vitus Cathedral.
Their artistic partnership lasted nearly 50 years, until Libenský’s death in 2002, during which time they continuously explored both the optical and physical aspects of glass, pushing boundaries and inspiring new generations of glass artists for years to come. They were the recipients of countless honors and awards, including the 1958 Grand Prize at Expo ’58 in Brussels, Belgium, and their works are in numerous private and public collections worldwide including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Corning Museum of Glass, the National Gallery, Prague, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, the Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro, and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
Auction Results Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová
