Czech Glass, 1945-1980: Design in an Age of Adversity

Edited By Helmut Ricke, 448 pp., 696 illustrations, with CD-ROM
Published 2005 by ARNOLDSCHE Verlagsanstalt GmbH
ISBN No: 3 89790 217 6

Mid-20th-centery Czech glass is a crucial but little-known aspect of postwar European design. Modern and abstract art was vigorously suppresssed by the communist regime that controlled Czechoslovia after 1948. Yet Artists working in glass explored abstract styles and other contemporary approaches to art that were not allowed in the fine arts.

The high artistic quality of Czech glass did not become known in the West until the late 1970's, althought important design innovations were being made as early as the 1940s. Czechoslovak artists attracted attention because they explored the potential of glass as a medium for painting and sculpture. Since the 1980s, the Czech Republic has been the undisputed leader in European art in glass.

This book is designed to accompany the major exhibition with the same title, features contributions by glass scholars in the Czech Republic, Germany, and the United States. It traces the development of 20th-centery Czech art in glass, examines the new ideas that emanated from the Czechoslovak educational system, and profiles significant Czechoslovak artists. The book also contains an overview of the glass industry, a bibliography, and a glossary of technical terms. It is accompanied by a CD-ROM containing 20th-century Czech glass design drawings from The Corning Museum of Glass.