When glass has a mind of its own

The art of Libenský Brychtová in Yerevan

by Maria Titizian and Gregory Lima

Published: Saturday November 14, 2009 in Cafesjian Center for the Arts

Jaroslava Brychtová with Gerard L. Cafesjian by Dale Chihouly's installation, Persian. Chihouly was among the students of Stanislav Libenský, Ms. Brychtová's husband. Mkhitar Khachatryan

3 V (Victory) Column, 1997, colorless glass melted in molds, 300 x 50 x 50 cm, Gerard L. Cafesjian Collection. Rabert Ghevondian

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Libenský Brychtová’s monuments of glass

Yerevan - Jaroslava Brychtová, a Czech glass artist and sculptor, was in Yerevan this week to take part in the opening of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts. Ms. Brychtová and her late husband Stanislav Libenský emerged in the middle of the last century as leaders in the world of contemporary glass art. The innovative couple elevated glass to the level of major architectural sculptures and influenced generations of glass makers around the world.

Libenský Brychtová began experimenting with the glass process early in their career. They developed new approaches that eventually turned the world of glass art on its head.

Jean Paul Sartre is said to have remarked that the achievement of Calder was to no longer merely suggest movement but to capture it. The achievement of Libenský Brychtová, it has been noted, is to no longer suggest light but to capture it. By capturing light, the pair freed its expressive capabilities.

Their work was in tune with contemporary explorations in art, particularly in what has been called "the liberating gesture of nonfigurative art," as they brought glass into the mainstream of art.

Libenský Brychtová For Armenia

The current exhibit at the Cafesjian Center for the Arts showcases only a fraction of Gerard L. Cafesjian's collection of Libenský Brychtová. When this particular exhibit was being designed, Ms. Brychtová requested that a stone pedestal be constructed on the east wall to hold an ancient Armenian khachkar, or stone cross, Otto Theuer, curator of the Cafesjian Collection, explained. She wanted people to understand the spiritual connection between their art and the monumental quality of the khachkar. She noted that the khachkar is a form of sculpting that has deep meaning and roots to which most Armenians could relate.

There is no khachkar in the exhibit hall at present, but the artist hopes that eventually an appropriate one will be exhibited in conjunction with her work.

Of the more than 100 pieces by the couple in the Cafesjian Collection, only eight are on display today at the center. In the future, other shows will exhibit the larger pieces that are in the collection. For example, there is a sculpture called, Flower, from the 1980s, which is almost nine feet tall and is a monumental piece of art made of double layers of colorless glass.

Libenský was an influential teacher. Asked whether his students were represented at the center, Ms. Brychtová said, "There are good sculptures there, from [the American artist Dale] Chihuly." The work of one of Libenský's students, "Table for the Resting," and the work of three other students are also part of the collection. "My husband taught his whole life. He came from a school back home that taught techniques of casting large works and melting them into a mold," the sculptor explained.

Light that not only illuminates but transforms

"The light in Yerevan is not normal," Ms. Brychtová exclaimed.

Mr. Theuer interjected that when Ms. Brychtová saw her glass artwork for the first time on display in Yerevan in the exhibition hall of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts, there was something different about it. "The light in Yerevan has changed the color of the glass. She has seen the exhibit three or four times already and each time the light has been different," Mr. Theuer said. "It must be the height; this city is like a crescent; depending on what the atmosphere is, the quality of light is changing. Today, for example, it was a very soft light because there was some haze over the city that affected how the light penetrated through the frosted glass and then into the sculpture itself."

Particularly, Green Eye of the Pyramid and Horizon seemed to be aglow in this newfound light of Yerevan. "The Horizon sculpture especially had a really rich red glow, which we've never seen before," he explained. "So, you can see it again and again and again and each time it will look different."

There is something that is thrilling about glass sculptures, especially because their interior spaces change constantly with the quality of light. "A solid three-dimensional sculpture changes the space that you perceive, but a glass sculpture creates inner spaces that are not there but that you perceive to be there," the curator told us.

Inner and outer space

The concave and the convex can be joined by transparency, creating an active relationship between inner and outer space. Moreover, glass sculpture, as was noted, can create an inner space that does not exist outside of its capture and modulation of light. The creative play between outer form and inner space is one of the innovative features of their art.

One of the more popular Libenský Brychtová sculptures, the 3V column, showcases the prismatic effect of glass and the quality of light crystal. You can see yourself in this sculpture. Depending on where you are standing, you might only see slants, but if you move around to the right side, you will see the V for victory. It plays with the optical qualities of glass.

The couple began creating the 3V sculpture in 1989, as a celebration for the Czech Republic's newfound freedom. It was completed in 1997. The works by Libenský Brychtová typically have two dates - the first date is when the design was executed and the second date is when the sculpture itself was fabricated.

Their work has many powerful themes, including political radicalism they had always supported. For example, Open Window and Horizon symbolized independence and freedom. In 1989, with the long-awaited velvet revolution in Czechoslovakia, the couple produced more weighty symbols on different themes, including Vacant Thrones (1989/2005) and Burning Thrones (1989/2005), both on display in Yerevan; these pieces reflected the oppressive reality of despotic power and the collective longing for political change in their country.