Written by: Štěpánka Strouhalová
Photo by: Věroslav Sixt
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Rony Plesl
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Arising from the waters of Czech design, glass artist Rony Plesl brought to local awareness a fresh view, a perfect craft, and even comprehensive design know-how.
ONE YEAR AGO this former glass-work teacher at SUPŠ (Secondary School of the Applied Arts) in Železný Brod and designer of the B.A.G. and AJETO glassworks established his own company and his design endeavors took a new turn. Thanks to the managerial skills of his partner, Petr Seifert, he now has more time for his designs and can even allow himself to undertake certain comprehensive solutions by order. “When we approach firms we want to know things like who the end customer is and what sort of price the collection is to be sold for. We put out our own high quality catalog and can also assist with distribution,” Plesl says. He adds that firms are beginning to be drawn by such an offer, and that his company is literally swamped by orders, from eyeglasses to beer glasses.
He adopted his approach during his work as a designer with the famed Italian glassworks Barovier & Toso, a firm with a tradition dating back eight hundred years. “In general, Italian design isn’t based solely on the cleverness of its designers, it’s more a well thought-out, close cooperation between industry and trade,” the designer explains. He designs large bowls and vases with elaborate details for Barovier & Toso. “It’s sort of a combination of decorative Murano techniques and my Czech sculptural approach,” he adds.
“I enjoy free sculpture, because it allows me to express myself with absolute freedom,” Plesl muses. “Design immediately reaches many people, and you get immediate reactions to it. But on the other hand you have to make many compromises with the producer.” The typical hallmarks of Plesl’s style are stated in his artistic manifesto: complicated minimal, romantic industrial, a glass as a sculpture, decor by image. “I don’t like it when things are dry. I like a clean shape, but it must be marked by something unexpected, pleasant, and juicy. But I think the greatest art is when you are able to do something very clever that everyone can like,” Plesl says. In this country Plesl offers his collections in various price ranges: large vases and bowls are sold at Linea Pura from 10 to 20,000 crowns, for example, and less expensive drinking glasses and small items are sold at Livingshop and Livingspace. Besides the Pecka gallery in Prague, he exhibits in many prestigious galleries around the world such as Hittfeld in Germany.
 Isamu Vase, molded glass |
 Krakatit Flask, blown and cut glass |
 Uran Vase, blown and cut glass |
 Hemingway Glass, blown and cut glass |
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shop of the month A glass ACT: Although the Galerie Tesař in fact offers “only” drinking glasses of a single shape and appearance, it provides a pleasant counterbalance to shops with very colorful, ornate glass. Glassmakers Milan and Veronika Tesař take advantage of simple cutting in a cultivated manner. Their interesting, dynamic line achieves an artistic effect on simply-shaped drinking sets and carafes, from clear or matte glass.
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