Dana Vachtova was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1937. She Attended the School of Sculpture and later the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague where she was in the class of Professor Kaplický. Since 1963 she has been an independent glass artist. Her formation as a sculptor is clearly discernible in her works in glass, which she has often uses in combination with other materials such as metal, bronze and wood. Although she has occasionally worked as a designer, Vachtová is primarily a sculptor using either blown or cast glass. She is interested chiefly in the spatial relationship between the various component parts that make up the whole in her sculptures, and often works on large scale. She is represented by work in the major museum collection of glass including those of the Corning Museum of Glass, The Kunstsammlungen des Veste Coburg, the Museé des Arts Décoratifs de Lausanne and the National Gallery in Prague Dana Vachtova's work has always been influenced by a sculptor's sentiments. One can see this in previous cycles, where a blown-glass shape exuding expression would be organically connected with strict form of metal parts in which it was framed. Work with pieces modeled from wax and finished as glass melted into moulds afforded the author new opportunities. Gradually one can see a growing tendency to replace spontaneous glass formations with modeling that can be extremely precise even down to the finest of details. The newer juxtapositions of smelted glass with bronze reinforce this. The artist covers the sculpture's surface in places with silver plate and achieves a confrontation between the soft model with its metallic appearance and the seemingly inner light that illuminates the glass. The sculpture's motifs are strongly emotionally colored; many works are direct scenes from dramas of a purely personal nature as well as those common to all mankind. Phdr. Alena Adlerova "J'aimerais, que les modulations du temps changent la configuration du monde environnant, que ce ne soit pas le seul fait de la méchanceté et de l´indifférence humaines."

Bibliography:


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