frantisek vizner
A major Czech glass artist. František Vízner (1936-2011) trained at the famous glassmaking schools in Nový Bor and Železný Brod before completing his studies at the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague. After graduating from the academy, he was first engaged as a glass designer at Sklo Union in Teplice and subsequently worked with hot-shaped art glass at the Centre of Arts and Crafts Glassworks in Škrdlovice. Vízner left the Czechoslovak glass industry in 1975 to pursue a successful career as an independent artist, specialising in cut studio glass. Throughout his career, Vízner worked towards creating harmonious geometric objects instilled with internal tension. While his pieces are based on the shapes of functional bowls and plates, we understand their pure and simple volumes better as non-functional, sculptural forms. These compact, timeless forms demonstrate Vizner’s attention to proportion, admiration of glass material and, above all, high quality craftwork. No individual detail is allowed to interrupt the harmony and rationality of his objects. His work conceals passion, which he only gradually reveals. Vizner’s extraordinary objects, with their clean, articulated lines and deep, luminous colours, continue to impress collectors around the world and are represented in the most prominent museum collections: Museum of Applied Art and Craft in Prague, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris, The Corning Museum of Glass and many others.
