Plurarity of identity in the Works of Zdenek Lhotsky

From the text by Dr. Sylva Petrova to the Zdenek Lhotsky exhibition at BBLA – Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Associatin in New York 29.3. – 22.4. 2017

The narrow field of specialisation that we see all around us, including in art and the commercial strategies of galleries, is a contemporary characteristic. Artistic creativity behaves in exactly the opposite manner – it is a universal ability. If a person is a true artist, then he is able to and in fact prioritizes work in a variety of materials, i.e. in various artistic disciplines. That is the case of the world-renowned Czech glass-maker Zdenek Lhotsky (1956). His interests are plural, and include a broad field of design, free forms (in glass that means bowls, steles, stained glass, reliefs, giant containers and smaller objects with graphic motifs), then architectural work, and also creations in other materials such as metal, paper, textile and more (sculptures, graphics and drawings).

Lhotský is an extraordinary artist who seeks challenges, he is not interested in mainstream artistic movements and fashions, but prefers to go his own way. His interest in ornamentation and pattern or even both together are provocative, although today these are neglected aspects in Czech glass in terms of occurrence.

(source Dr. Sylva Petrová, curator, Professor Emeritus, University of Sunderland, Great Britain)