Stele
clear glass, fused in a mould, matte surface, 1995, sign. Oldřich Plíva, 64 x 62 x 16 cm

The work is from the author’s studio

Exhibited: Stanislav Libenský and his students, Fine Arts Museum, Taipei; Museum of Arts and Design, New York

Oldřich Plíva, My Glass, Muzeum of Glass and Jewelry, Jablonec nad Nisou, 2006

After studying at the Glassmaking Secondary School in Železný Brod, Oldřich Plíva continued studying under prof. Libenský at the AAAD in Prague, graduating in 1971. Together with his peers Aleš Vašíček, Yan Zoritchak and Marian Karel, he represented new cut “prismatic” sculptures. The authors wanted to use the optical qualities of cut glass, most often crystal. They especially followed Stanislav Libenský and Václav Cigler’s work. In his sculptures, Oldřich Plíva mostly focuses on their inner space in relationship to their outer whole. He thus deconstructs basic geometric bodies, which he assembles again into their original shape or focuses on the relationships between these basic bodies.

Stele was created in 1995 and was exhibited several times with a polished surface finish. In 2006, the author adjusted the finish to matte.

Quotation:
“I try to capture the naturalness of reality. I strive for a unity of shape, material and realization. I avoid stereotypes of esthetic production.”