Jaroslav Wasserbauer – Modernizer of Tradition

Jaroslav Wasserbauer belongs to the younger generation of Czech glass artists. After completing his education at the glassmaking school in Světlá nad Sázavou, he perfected his skills as a glass grinder in a glassworks in Josefodol. Already at the young age of 26 he bought a studio and began his independent artistic career.

Based on the traditional school of Czech studio glass art – established by the old masters such as Stanislav Libenský & Jaroslava Brychtová and Vladimír Kopecký – he has developed his very own style in the processing and shaping of glass. He concentrates on the technique of glass melting and clearly structured designs, geometric forms that are influenced strongly by the architecture that fascinates Wasserbauer. Over time, however, pure geometry seemed too sober and cold to him. Jaroslav Wasserbauer discovered his love of nature and increasingly – very sparingly – incorporated organic elements such as glass blossoms, reliefs of plants or fiber structures into his work. But geometry always forms the basis.

Wasserbauer is a progressive traditionalist: forward-looking and constantly breaking new ground without losing sight of the traditional roots of Czech glass art. He loves playing with transparency and the effects of light and shadow in his objects. He sees his art primarily as manual work. According to him, perseverance is indispensable for an artist in every respect: only in this way can a creative idea manifest itself in an individual work over time.