Published by Academy of Art, Architecture and Design (AAAD - UMPRUM) in Prague, 428 pgs., 320 col. pic. ISBN 978-80-87989-63-0.
Also in Czech version Ceské sklo (2018) 978-80-87989-50-0, 428 pgs., 320 col. pic.

Vysoká skola umeleckoprumyslova v Praze
nam Jana Palacha 80?116
93 Praha 1
www.vsup.cz

NATIONAL GALLERY PRAGUE
TRade Fair Palace
Dukelskych hrinu 47
170 00 Prague 7
https://www.ngprague.cz

SYLVA PETROVA CZECH GLASS / CESKE SKLO

Second revised, and extended edition of Czech Glass (printed 2001).

Sylva Petrova

The first edition of Czech Glass published in both English and Czech versions, supported by research grants of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and the British Academy in London[1], was widely welcomed at home and abroad. The book was published by the Gallery of Jaroslav Koran (died 2017) and launched on the market at a at the end of 2001.

The invitation to the book launch from the SOFA New York followed in October 2002. However, by then the whole edition had been destroyed. In August 2002, devastating floods in Prague, considered the worst natural disaster in the modern history of the Czech Republic, also hit the Gallery depository in Karlin. The books floating in the water, stuck and twisted, ended up in a paper mill. Years of effort were wasted, nothing was rescued and we lacked financial resources for a new edition.
It has taken a long time to obtain funding and find a suitable publisher to issue the destroyed book again. After years, our effort has been successful thanks to the editorial programme of the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design.

The original and the second editions of the book are based on the idea of providing comprehensive information related to the questions of Czech studio glass after the Second World War. It presents a selected range of themes, phenomena and issues, which deserve a deeper academic study that will hopefully materialise in the future. The aim of this publication is to present an “integral” view of the moment of “change”, particularly of the changes in artistic concepts, events and trends that have facilitated the development of Czech glass. This book does not have an ambition to provide comprehensive information about the full range of Czech glass.[2] It primarily traces studio glass as a development of a specific art form overlapping with wider contexts. In the second edition, we felt the need to update the outline and cover the post-2000 period, where the first edition (Chapter 6) ended. In addition to experimental, individually designed glass, the last chapter outlines current directions in glass design. It offers a selection of artists and their works, with emphasis on their artistic contribution, many of them working on the boundary of studio glass. Compared to the first edition, however, general cultural comments have been slightly reduced in favour of other facts and references. The graphic layout of the book was designed by Rostislav Van?k. The photo reproductions of artworks by a number of photographers, especially by Gabriel Urbánek, deserve credit as well.

The Czech version is distributed within partners of AAAD all over the art book shops in the Czech republic and e-shops (google out name of the author and a book title). The Czech version costs at the moment 1500,- CZK and English 2000,- CZK.

The foreign distribution is provided by a company Kosmas, s.r.o. The books can be ordered from Kosmas via e-mail: info@kosmas.cz. The number of the books and the address of delivery are essential. The final price consists form an equivalent of the price in CZK (Czech Crown) converted into foreign currency plus delivery payment. The price is viewable before payment is requested and a confirmation e-mail is sent immediately.

[1] A small grant. The British Academy London, 2000.

[2] The title of the book may convey this impression. However, it has been simplified to eliminate inconsistencies in terms. The book focuses on a wider non-academic public – students, art collectors and curators in the Czech Republic and abroad.

Posted 18 December 2018

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Geez, what a book of weight the book Czech Glass is, as the Czech glass history weights on glass art!

Published on occasion of the first edition the ESGAA (European Studio Glass art Association) then wrote:

Czech Glass is the first publication of this scope to explain the key factors and circumstances of the development of this world phenomenon – Czech individual glassmaking - over the past 55 years. The author, Sylva Petrová, a world-renowned authority in the field of modern glass and currently professor at the University of Sunderland, England, has drawn on her 15 years professional and personal experience of Czech glass as well as on much little-known archival material and the reminiscences of glassmakers themselves. A major feature of the book are the contributions by some thirty leading photographers, headed by Gabriel Urbánek (a total of 339 illustrations), and the graphic artist Rostislav Van?k. The book, which includes extensive documentary material is published in a Czech and English version by Jaroslav Ko?án’s Gallery publishing house in collaboration with Prague’s Museum of Applied Arts and the International Institute for Glass Research at the University of Sunderland.

With the best photo’s one can wish for, Petrova cast with this release a fresh light.To use the opportunity replacing the same book drowned in 2002 during a devastating flood of the river the Moldau in Prague. After years of looking for funds and a publisher for the book an additional program from the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design, based on he Studio Glass movement after the 2nd World War, it presents a selected range of themes, phenomenon and issues proving an comprehensive overview on glass sculptures, glass in architecture and flat glass and Studio glass.

A book to my hart, every one should study to understand the importance of the Grand old lady Petrova and the Czech glass.It will be on display in my library ready to grab with each new question.

Angela van der Burght