There are 20 artworks.
ZUBER
Born in Poland in 1948 and a graduate in ceramics and glass from the Beaux-Arts, Czeslaw Zuber moved to France in 1982 and became one of the pioneers of the Studio Glass movement, breaking 800-kilo blocks of glass with a sledgehammer to cold-engrave and paint the resulting pieces. Awarded a prize at the 1985 International Glass Exhibition in Coburg, he invented his own paint to preserve the material's transparency, while also experimenting with granite and bronze. A visual artist, sculptor and ceramicist, he presents his world at Galerie Le Cube Vernet, in Avignon.
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Biographie
Czeslaw Zuber, Contemporary Glass Sculptures | Galerie Le Cube Vernet
A master glass artist from the Studio Glass movement, Czeslaw Zuber is presented by Galerie Le Cube Vernet in Avignon. His engraved and painted glass sculptures bring to life an imaginary, colourful and optimistic bestiary.
From Polish Fine Arts to France
Born in Poland in 1948, Czeslaw Zuber graduated in Fine Arts in 1974, in the ceramics and glass section. He first intended to design industrial tableware. In 1981, he received a special jury prize at a Polish glass art exhibition. He moved to France in 1982.
The Path of a Contemporary Master Glass Artist
The Studio Glass movement moved art glass from the factory to the artist's studio, and from luxury craft to contemporary creation, leaving utility behind in favour of unique works. Czeslaw Zuber belongs to this lineage. On arriving in France, he visited the waste site of a resistant-glass factory. He became one of the first to break 800-kilo glass blocks with a sledgehammer, then engrave and paint the pieces, working cold.
In 1985, he won the special jury prize at the International Glass Exhibition in Coburg, Germany. In 1992, he received the gold medal of the American Interfaith Institute. He is now one of the great names in contemporary glass.
Between Technical Mastery and Experimentation
Breaking huge blocks of crystal with a sledgehammer or a diamond saw means breaking with the idea that humans fully control glass. Czeslaw Zuber then polishes the chosen piece, engraves and hollows it with a sandblaster, and paints it. He had to invent a special paint, mixed with a product that protects it from light: it lasts over time without spoiling the transparency of the glass.
Discovery and experimentation drive his work. He tried combining glass and granite, decorating his pieces with oil paint (too opaque), and even produced a series of bronze pieces acquired by Japanese collectors. Visual artist, designer, sculptor, painter, ceramist and illustrator, he approaches glass as mixed media work.
An Imaginary Bestiary Between Naïve Art and Art Brut
Naïve art or art brut? Probably a little of both, to meet the complexity of glass as an art material. His imaginary creatures form a colourful, phantasmagorical bestiary: the curls of an animal's tail become an eye, a palm trunk becomes a nose. Together they form an exuberant head, brought to life by light passing through the crystal and by optical effects.
Power, strength, exuberance: Czeslaw Zuber's rich imagination creates multiple images in a material as solid as it is transparent. Expressionist, optimistic and colourful, his heads find their place anywhere, from the veranda to a child's bedroom.
Works in Museums Around the World
Czeslaw Zuber's sculptures are held in many museums, including the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. They are exhibited in Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Czeslaw Zuber at Galerie Le Cube Vernet, Avignon
Discover Czeslaw Zuber's glass sculptures at Galerie Le Cube Vernet, in the heart of Avignon, and in our online shop.