Hi, Adam,
I must make it clear that the catalogue image that you have viewed is over forty years old. There was no attempt, as there would have been in a Glassexport catalogue, to give dimensions, this was after all, a post-humous exhibition , for some-one percieved as a major glass artist of the era. Zemek's graduation piece, a beautifully self-cut vase, sold in Germany for nearly 5,000€, @ five or six years ago.
So why is Zemek important?
Frantisek Zemek,born 1913, died 1960, was arguably the sole link between the modernists, Kotera et al, and the new Czechoslovak avant-garde artists in glass.
Smrckova, continued in the modernist tradition for many years, at Ceskomoravske Sklarny, Sklarny Inwald and others.
Zemek, was interested in both studio glass, and mass-production. He produced designs for off-hand work, pressed glass, and cut/polished work.
That his designs were important is un-doubted, he delivered designs for the "Rhapsody" range for Teplicke Sklo, and another range "Harmony" around the same time.
In my humble opinion, Zemek in his approach to off-hand, free-formed work, whether with refinement, or not, led the fledgling new generation of czechoslovakian designers, to the future.
I am not suggesting he was the Messiah, merely a man with an unsurpassed knowledge of his chosen area.
Whilst Vizner is seen as collectable, it is not inverse snobbery to prefer Zemek..... his time for recognition will undoubtedly arrive, and soon.
Regards,
Marcus
Topic: A mixed bunch? (Read 7918 times)
