In June this year, the latest crystal masterpiece of Czech design and glass icon René Roubíček was officially unveiled at PRECIOSA Lighting in Kamenický Šenov. This piece brings to life the artist’s ideological link between several historical milestones in the world of art glass. Its creation involved a large team of glass blowers, craftsmen, and other specialists.
The idea of creating a work of art that connects the author’s major creative milestones came to life last autumn, during the “Celebration of Czech Design and Glass“, which was the grand opening to the Back to the Future: Expo’58 exhibition. René Roubíček thus managed to complete this work within an admirable six months. This project has been created in cooperation with Museum of Glass and Jewelery in Jablonec nad Nisou
It is a new original piece that revisits two world exhibitions, jointly created through the vision of a renowned international glass artist and the skillful craftsmanship.
Tradition and vision, two indispensable characteristic of Czech glass, combined in one sculpture by the famous artist, René Roubíček: this is the essence of Expo2. This piece is not only a link between the artist’s two groundbreaking pieces made for the 1958 and 1967 World EXPOs, but it also exemplifies the difference between “a second look” and an “exponentially powerful examination” of an interesting time in history. The resulting colorful symphony does not adhere to the rules, but springs forth in a multicolored explosion of crystal harmony that finds its own path. The old familiar tunes are now a distant memory – a starting point for new beginning. Thanks to the glassmakers at PRECIOSA Lighting, Rene Roubíček brought this excursion into his lyrical past to life – and seeing it only once will not be enough. You are sure to be drawn by its exponential powers to experience it over and over again!
René Roubíček (b. 1922) is one of the founding fathers of modern glass art. His vision has charmed three generations of artists and glass lovers from all over the world. The artist’s creations for the 1958 and 1967 World Expo’s symbolized the liberation of glass from centuries of being strictly defined by a given, expected shape. Roubíček added a new dimesion to glass: space.
The artist’s latest work is the ideological key pin between these historical milestones in the world of studio art glass. The piece is a spectacular rainbow that spans the horizon- a bounded relativity of time.
It would be impossible to bring these bold dreams to life without expert Czech glassmakers, whose distinguished craftsmanship has made this small Central European country proud for hundreds of years. Thanks to visionaries like René Roubíček, this skill and artistry live on here to this day, and his “glass dreams” will undoubtedly continue to inspire many generations to come!
To follow the trip of this masterpiece follow its special blog www.expo2.net.
