Vízner & Venini: Works by two brilliant stars of the glass-making heaven come together in Prague

Timeless imposing sculptural works by František Vízner are, just like the superb objects made in the Venini workshop in Murano, real legends in the domain of art glass. Both Czech and Murano glass has ranked, ranks and will certainly continue to rank among the articles most sought-after by collectors and lovers of unique and valuable objects.

You can feast your eyes on beautiful exhibits created by Vízner and Venini in the collections of the most prestigious institutions, such as the Metropolitan Museum in New York and Victoria & Albert Museum in London. You can also find them, by a rare coincidence, at the Prague-based gallery praguekabinet, which represents them in the Czech Republic.

Although the remarkable objects produced by the Czech artist František Vízner (1936–2011) may have the form of a bowl or a vase, since their minimalist and archetypal shapes are closest to his creative thinking, they represent truly unique sculptures. It is hard to believe that the artist made them in his modest studio from a block of glass using a hand-operated grinding wheel. Together with the pair Stanislav Libenský/Jaroslava Brychtová and Václav Cigler he ranks among the top glass sculptures not only in the Czech Republic but also worldwide. After all, in 2013, he was put by the prestigious journal Glass: The Urban Glass Art Quarterly in tenth place on a list of fifty most influential glass artists in the world. The gallery praguekabinet is justly proud of having been chosen by the artist to represent him and of being able to offer his breath-taking objects to prospective buyers, including the latest ones, which prove that this artist and designer never rested on his laurels (and he did win many in his life!), but he ceaselessly perfected his art towards timelessness and uniqueness, and hence, to absolute beauty.

In return, you will find in the Venini collection chandeliers, lamps and vases hand-blown by master craftsmen according to original designs, using many top secret techniques in the Venini workshop on the Venetian island of Murano, which is in itself a legend in the art glass encyclopaedia. Yes, Murano glass is a Legend, and that bearing the signature of Venini in particular.

Now from which creators can you choose their glass gems? You can be sure that you will find among them many a big international name, for example such renowned designers as the Italian Ettore Sottsass, the Finn Tapio Wirkkala or the French brothers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. Although the Venini branded objects take on a utilitarian character, they have a great artistic value and bear the stamp of originality in the interior where they are on display. Not a few owners of a Venini vase refuse to put flowers in it and enjoy it as a magnificent object in itself.

Speaking of Vízner and Venini, in both cases a unique craft goes hand in hand with a phenomenal artistic or design talent. Glass always has the gift of magic and if it can be moreover combined with creative artistry, real gems can be created. And it is those that interest praguekabinet, it is those it wants to offer its customers in a judicious selection.