Jaroslava Brychtová

(Železný Brod, Czech Republic, 1924 - 2020, Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech Republic)

Europe, Czech

Working collaboratively from the 1950s, Stanislav Libensky and Jaroslava Brychtová are credited with establishing glass as a medium for contemporary sculpture and architectural installations. Both constrained by the Czech government’s restrictions on expression and fostered by its interest in gaining prestige for glass, the husband/wife team described their sculpture as “color in space.” A renowned educator, Libenský was educated in Zelezny Brod and Prague. Upon returning to Zelezny Brod to teach, he met Brychtová, who was the daughter of the school’s founder. Together they developed and refined the technique of melting glass in molds, then cutting and polishing the resulting forms once they cooled, resulting in impressive sculptures that were distinguished by their volume, transparency and emotional resonance. The artists received the Grand Prize at Expo ’58 in Brussels, Belgium, a gold medal of the 1966 Biennale of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and many other awards. Their work has been recognized in more than 30 exhibitions throughout the United States and Europe and is in the collections of the Museum des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Metropoloitan Museum in New York, among others.

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