Wasserbauer Jaroslav *1962

The Polar Ship, 2016

tinted, cut and polished glass, 50 × 49 cm
Polar Ship, 2016 Wasserbauer's glass work is characterised by robust sculptural objects made of coloured glass melt. The artist uses its specific properties and malleable possibilities to create abstracted sculptures. In them, he applies mainly a reduced geometric solution of volumes, often complemented by organic or vegetal motifs with a structured surface. An important role in the creative process is played by working with the matt and polished surface of the surface and especially with the effect of natural light falling on the object. While the matt surface of the sculpture reflects and scatters the light, sculpting it in space, the ground surface absorbs the light, letting it in and revealing the inner space of the sculpture. The effect of the light, multiplied by the colour pigments, is unique. The luminous and colourful qualities of the sculpturally conceived objects made of noble material make them exceptional works of art. The glass work of Jaroslav Wasserbauer loosely follows the strong tradition of the Czech glass school, which was formed at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s. Its circle included mainly Josef Kaplický's students at the Prague Academy of Arts and Crafts, i.e. Stanislav Libenský, Miluše Roubíčková, Vladimír Kopecký and Václav Cígler, who raised glass sculpture to the level of monumental sculpture. Jaroslav Wasserbauer (born 1962) is a glass artist, he studied glass cutting at the Secondary Vocational School of Glass in Světlá nad Sázavou (1978-1982). He worked as a glassmaker in the studio of J. Švarc at the Bohemia Glassworks and later in the cut glass studio of Jaroslav Svoboda at the glassworks in Škrdlovice. Since 1988 he has been working independently on his own work in his studio in Źďár nad Sázavou. Since the 1990s, he has been devoted to fused sculpture, in which he draws inspiration from living and inanimate nature, especially the vegetative shapes of anemones and underwater mushrooms, which fascinate him. In 2013 he participated in the design of the prizes for the winners of the World Biathlon Championships. His work is represented in the collections of the Horace Gallery in Nové Město na Moravě and in prestigious art institutions such as Museum Taibei, China; Museum Dekorativ Art, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Modern Art, Seoul, South Korea; Glass Museum, Monterrey, Mexico; Glass Museum, Mexico City. Provenance: acquired by the owner from the artist's studio.