Glass Studio

The glass studio at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design wants to keep the best of the tradition established by professors Kaplický, Libenský and Kopecký

Glass is a unique and lively material with a significant impact of coincidence and surprise. This is one of the reasons why the work in the glass studio oscillates between free art and design. This balance should be natural, without attempts to establish any categories.

Crucial are the ideological foundations of our work, which do not distinguish between big and small or free and applied art. This strong ideological concept should guide students through the labyrinth of trends and computer simulations, and help them avoid cheap aesthetism and decorativism, which are often tempting for artists working with such a magic material as glass.
Glass design is very close to architecture. It requires a monumental approach even in the smallest forms, accompanied by a search for light.
For example, a glass is an architectonic and sculpturing challenge equal to free sculpture. Its important features are the inner strength and the tension in the silhouette which conveys all emotions, professionalism and experience of the author, similarly as a drawing. Therefore, drawing is one of the pillars of the work in the glass studio.
The studio should follow the path of creative design, with overlap in the conceptual approach which serves as a basis for any other artistic discipline.
Examples to be followed are artists like Jan Kotěra, Pavel Janák, Josef Kaplický, Isamu Noguchi, Gio Ponti, Etore Sottsass.
The studio should preserve its charisma and pride, without separatist and pseudo-artistic tendencies that could result in an overly academic and eclectic approach.
The outputs of the studio should be far more varied than they have been so far and should be oriented towards real life, with all it involves. Our graduates must be able to create good free art and, at the same time, to convince producers anywhere in the world of the strength and meaningfulness of their designs, with humility and pride at the same time.

Head of the Studio

Academic sculptor Rony Plesl
(*1965, Jablonec nad Nisou)
1984-1990 Academy of Art, Architecture and Design, metal and jewelry (V. K. Novák) and glass (J. Harcuba)
1990 stay at the La villa Arson school, Nice (France)
1997 stay at the Tittot company, Taipei (Taiwan)
He worked as a teacher at secondary schools of applied arts (Jablonec nad Nisou, Železný Brod) and than as a designer with Ajeto, B. A. G. Vsetín and Barovier & Toso (Itálie) workshops and with the Sahm company in the Czech Republic. In 2002, he founded his own brand Rony Plesl, s. r. o, and in 2005 the Rony Plesl Studio. Since 2009 he has been the chief designer of Sahm (Germany). He also cooperates with glassworks Moser, Ajeto and Květná. He is designer for Denizli by Pasabahce (Turkey) and Preciosa. He also creates free sculptures and drawings, architecture designs (glass and stone features in the Czech Republic and abroad) and interior designs.
www.ronyplesl.com

Assistant

MgA. Pavel Karous
(*1979, Prague)
1998-1999 University of Jan Evangelista Purkyně, Ústí nad Labem, FUD, glass (Ilja Bílek)
1999-2005 Academy of Art, Architecture and Design, Prague, special arts (Marian Karel)
2002-2003 University of Plymouth, Exeter, Great Britain, sculpture (Andy Clussan), a scholarship at the Academy of Visual Arts, Prague, studio of monumental art (Aleš Veselý).
He is also involved in stage design (for example for the play Muži malují by Michal Pěchouček or for Cybercomix), in the Vetřelci a volavky project aimed at protection and promotion of statues created in the public space in the normalization period (the theme and screenplay of a documentary for Česká televize, lectures and exhibitions). www.pavelkarous.cz