Marian Karel

Space, glass and light

• Marian uses a minimalistic language of expression
• He loves to capture light through his pieces
• He has created installations for important spaces

Marian Karel pioneered a new concept of prismic glass sculptures at the beginning of the 1970s. His almost exclusive theme became objects smoothly cut out of massive blocks of lead glass, to which he gives simple geometrical shapes of cubes, cylinders, pyramids or polyhedrons. The aim of these objects is to make artistic use of light when combined with glass, especially reflections and deflections of light rays in the interior of glass prisms. Marian has an inborn sense of the monumental and works with space – be it in historical spaces such as Palazzo Ducale or Accademia Bridge, or contemporary buildings such as MoMA. He is able to alter commonplace perspectives and oppose the rules of gravity. Flat sheet glass is combined with contrasting metal surfaces, granite or water surfaces.

Interview

©Michelangelo Foundation

©Michelangelo Foundation

What does your work as a professor mean to you?

It is inspiring to be surrounded by young people; they think differently. They are open minded and work without any prejudices. At the Czech Technical University, there are 10 faculties, each with an interesting programme.

Why did you leave prisms behind?

Partly because I felt limited by the size of the lead glass block, partly because I was not interested in the endless adoration of the beauty of glass as many “cube makers” who worked with cut and polished blocks suddenly made cheap bestsellers.

What is essential in your artistic search?

It is discovering the connection between space, glass and light. Composing glass sheets, I create illusional transformations of light which reflect, and thus empower the surrounding reality. When making small objects, my desire is to express a three-dimensional space with a flat form.

What is the message of your works?

Generally speaking, I want to cast doubt on our rooted perception of space as something static and raise philosophical questions: What is reality? And what is a mirage and an illusion? Thus alluding to the mysterious transience of our existence.

Marian Karel is a master artisan: he began his career in 1974 and he started teaching in 1993

Works

©Gabriel Urbánek

©Gabriel Urbánek

©Gabriel Urbánek

©Gabriel Urbánek

©Arthouse Hejtmánek

Where