Vladimír Kopecký
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Vladimír Kopecký' (*
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Svojanov Svojanov is a market town in Svitavy District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 400 inhabitants. Administrative division Svojanov consists of six municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Sv ...
) is a
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...
painter, graphic artist, glass artist and university professor. From 1990 to 2008 he was the head of the Glass Studio at the
Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague The Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (AAAD, , abbreviated VŠUP, also known as UMPRUM) is a public university located in Prague, Czech Republic. The university offers the study disciplines of painting, illustration and graphics, ...
.


Life

Vladimír Kopecký was born in the village of
Svojanov Svojanov is a market town in Svitavy District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 400 inhabitants. Administrative division Svojanov consists of six municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Sv ...
into a family of a seamstress and a carpenter. From 1934 he lived with his parents and brother in
Uhříněves Prague 22, also known as Uhříněves, is a municipal district (''městská část'') in Prague, Czech Republic. It is located in the south eastern part of the city. The administrative district (''správní obvod'') of the same name comprises muni ...
. From the age of five he wanted to become a painter, but at the end of the war the family moved to
Děčín Děčín (; ) is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It is the seventth largest municipality in the country by area. Děčín is an important traffic junction. Administrative division Děč ...
, where the nearest secondary art school was the State Vocational Glass School in
Kamenický Šenov Kamenický Šenov () is a town in Česká Lípa District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,800 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zone ...
. He started his secondary school studies in 1946 under
René Roubíček René Roubíček (23 January 1922 – 29 April 2018) was a Czech glass artist, designer, painter, musician and teacher. He was one of the leading figures of 20th century world art glass.Šetlík J, 2013, p. 6 As a teacher at the Vocational Glass ...
and Josef Khýn. Here Vladimír Kopecký first became acquainted with glass and in 1948-1949 he continued his studies at the State Industrial Glass School in
Nový Bor Nový Bor (; ) is a town in Česká Lípa District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The town is known for its glass industry. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural mo ...
, where
Stanislav Libenský Stanislav and variants may refer to: People *Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, Kherson Oblast, a coastal village in Ukraine * Stanislaus County, ...
was his teacher. In 1949-1956 he studied in the studio of monumental painting and glass at the
Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague The Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (AAAD, , abbreviated VŠUP, also known as UMPRUM) is a public university located in Prague, Czech Republic. The university offers the study disciplines of painting, illustration and graphics, ...
under Prof. Josef Kaplický. In 1952, during his school practice in
Lednické Rovne Lednické Rovne () is a village and municipality in Púchov District in the Trenčín Region of north-western Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the nor ...
in
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
, he suffered a very serious accident when a grinding wheel broke while he was grinding glass and hit him in the face. He survived only by a miracle and underwent more than 20 plastic surgeries. After finishing his studies at the
Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague The Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (AAAD, , abbreviated VŠUP, also known as UMPRUM) is a public university located in Prague, Czech Republic. The university offers the study disciplines of painting, illustration and graphics, ...
, he became a postgraduate student at the studio of Josef Kaplický, where he worked from 1958 to 1961, and then became a freelance artist. He participated in the
Milan Triennial The ''Milan Triennial'' (Triennale di Milano) is an art and design exhibition that takes place every three years at the Triennale di Milano Museum in Milan, Italy. History The exhibition was originally established in 1923 as a biennial architect ...
(1957), the Czechoslovak Glass Show in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
(1959) and the
World Exhibition A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...
s in
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
(1958),
Montréal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
(1967) and
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
(1992). He won a gold medal for his glass mosaic for the
Expo 58 Expo 58, also known as the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (; ), was a world's fair held on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Brussels, Belgium, from 17 April to 19 October 1958. It was the first major world's fair registered under the Bureau Internati ...
in Brussels (together with the artists
Adriena Šimotová Adriena Šimotová (1926–2014) was a prominent Czech artist. Known for her work with paper and fabric, she held numerous exhibitions in the Czech Republic and abroad during her lifetime including a retrospective organized by the National Gallery ...
and František Burant).A170427_163256_vytvarne-umeni_jb STAŘÍ MISTŘI: Kopecký dělá „ošklivé sklo“ a barvami polévá i sebe / OLD MASTERS: Kopecký makes "ugly glass" and pours paint over himself, i-DNES, 2017
/ref> In 1957–1967, he was creating monumental stained glass windows in cooperation with Josef Jiřička's company - ''Art Glass Works'' (nationalized and incorporated into the ''Ústředí uměleckých řemesel'').
/ref> In the 1960s and 1970s he was mainly engaged in painting and until the end of the 1980s in designing glass objects for architecture. In 1990, at the request of students, he returned to the
Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague The Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (AAAD, , abbreviated VŠUP, also known as UMPRUM) is a public university located in Prague, Czech Republic. The university offers the study disciplines of painting, illustration and graphics, ...
, was appointed
professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...
in 1992 and remained there as head of the glass studio until 2008. His assistant was
Marian Volráb Marian Volráb is a Czech glass artist, painter and university teacher. Early life and education Marian Volráb was born in Příbram, Czechoslovakia. He comes from the family of painter and glass artist Rudolf Volráb (1933–1969) and glass ...
. Vladimír Kopecký maintained a very free atmosphere in the studio, which did not place any creative restrictions on the students. Kopecký's school at the UMPRUM, from which a number of prominent personalities came, followed Kaplický in promoting the general education of students, but consciously went against the "cultivation of glass" and placed more emphasis on the strength of expression. Vladimír Kopecký's first wife was the graphic artist
Alena Kučerová Alena Kučerová (born 1935) is a Czech printmaker. Life A native of Prague, Kučerová studied at that city's Advanced School of Graphic Art, Prague, Advanced School of Graphic Art from 1950 until 1954. From 1955 until 1959 she attended the P ...
. From 1991 he was a member of the art group ''Other Geometry'' and from 1992 of the renewed Umělecké beseda. Vladimír Kopecký lives with his second wife in Prague and works in his studios in Prague, in Central Bohemia and near
Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; , formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is located at the confluence of the Ohře and Teplá (river), Teplá ri ...
.


Awards

* 1958
Expo 58 Expo 58, also known as the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (; ), was a world's fair held on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Brussels, Belgium, from 17 April to 19 October 1958. It was the first major world's fair registered under the Bureau Internati ...
Brussels, Gold Medal * 1984 Glass 84´ in Japan, The Bridgestone Museum Prize, Tokyo, Japan * 1994 Holst Glas Prijs, Galerie Groeneveld, Almelo, NL * 2009 Ministry of Culture Award for Contribution to the Visual Arts * 2013 Jury Prize, Main Prize for Serigraphy, Printmaking of the Year * 2017 Prague 1 Municipality Award * 2021 Hall of Fame, International Glass Symposium Nový Bor


Work

Vladimír Kopecký's work is a permanent interpenetration of his essential painterly foundation and his distinctive use of glass in his artistic work. Already his early glass realizations in the form of thin-walled vessels bear abstract painterly compositions that enter the "third dimension" through transparencies (''Vase'', 1958). From the early 1960s onwards, he used painting to deny the optical qualities of glass, juxtaposing the prevailing decorative qualities and emphasis on the properties of the noble material with painterly gesture and boldness, demonstrating his inclination towards abstract art.Susanne K. Frantz: Glass, paint and Kopecký, in: Vladimír Kopecký, 1999, pp. 25-28 At that time, he often shocked his contemporaries with his so-called "ugly glass". In the artist's further works, a sovereign painterly line is constantly present. It can be divided into certain periods, but at the same time nothing is completely closed and the stimuli return repeatedly. It is connected in one organism with an unpredictable development scheme. Kopecký relies on his intuition, combining a geometric order with gestural painting. According to this veteran of Czech glassmaking, that's what life is like – illogical, incomprehensible and impossible to solve.Ondřej Pokorný, Caress And Torment The Soul, Spacial Magazine, 4.12.2022 (preview)
/ref> The alternation of positions is based entirely on the mood of the moment and the simple desire to take a break from one form of expression in another. When compared to the American
land art Land art, variously known as Earth art, environmental art, and Earthworks, is an art movement that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, largely associated with Great Britain and the United StatesArt in the modern era: A guide to styles, schools, & mo ...
artist
Robert Smithson Robert Smithson (January 2, 1938 – July 20, 1973) was an American artist known for sculpture and land art who often used drawing and photography in relation to the spatial arts. His work has been internationally exhibited in galleries and mu ...
, who is known for his entropic glass installations and minimalist plate glass objects, Kopecký's work is formally distinguished mainly by the expressive integration of glass and colour, which gives it vigour and richness.


Glass

Shortly after graduating, Vladimír Kopecký designed monumental mosaics (
Expo 58 Expo 58, also known as the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (; ), was a world's fair held on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Brussels, Belgium, from 17 April to 19 October 1958. It was the first major world's fair registered under the Bureau Internati ...
) and stained glass windows (
Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 28 to October 29, 1967. It was a category one world's fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most s ...
). His work in the 1960s and 1970s was substantially influenced by works for architecture. The line of objects made of ordered flat glass interlaced with coloured foil or sandblasted,Oldřich Palata, 2007 which he created from the 1970s onwards, is based on the principle of multiplied constructions and shapes (''Planks'', 1976). Their austerity has a calmness of precise order, but at the same time carries a coldness of lonely dehumanization. On each successive pane of glass, a geometric sandblasted segment is enlarged, reduced or displaced.Václav Erben, Some Notes on the Exhibition of Vladimír Kopecký, in: Vladimír Kopecký, 1999, p. 20 Kopecký was the first to use this principle to create an illusive space and depth (''Corridor'', 1972).Gajdůšek J, 2016 In the early 1980s, he left painting for a time and created stained glass windows cast in lead. It was a period of seeking for a new expression, as evidenced by the titles ''I don't know'', ''I still don't know'', etc. This series ends with the large-scale stained glass ''Morning'' (1987), in which he integrated almost all available techniques. By the end of the 1980s, Kopecký's work with glass is an expression of the moment, and the works are created spontaneously from leftover paint and fragments (''Afternoon Chair'', 1988). File:Vladimír Kopecký, Fošny, 1976.jpg, Vladimír Kopecký, ''Planks'', stacked sandblasted glass, 1976 File:Vladimír Kopecký, Diagonála, 1982.jpg, Vladimír Kopecký, ''Diagonal'', stacked plate glass, 1982 File:Vladimír Kopecký, Štefánikův dům (hotel Legie), 1989.jpg, Vladimír Kopecký, ''Sandblasted glass object'', Štefánik house (Legie hotel), Prague, 1989 File:Vladimír-Kopecký,-Tryzna-(1993-2010).jpg, Vladimír Kopecký, ''Agony'', 1993-2010 File:Vladimír Kopecký, Odpolední štokrdle, 1988.jpg, Vladimir Kopecký, ''Afternoon Chair'', combined materials, paint, 1988 Alongside the disciplined nature of his geometric objects made of sandblasted plate glass stands a parallel direction of creation, which has combined glass and gestural expressive painting into one violent cry (''Agony'', 1993–2010). As the artist himself says: "I like absolute silence and the storm of the universe". In 1992, he created a monumental spatial composition of painted plate glass and metal measuring 2.8 x 11.7 m for the
World's fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...
1992 in
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
. The glass is stacked in a scrummage of panes and folded blocks that recall the frozen moment of a railway accident.Susanne K. Frantz: Glass, paint and Kopecký, in: Vladimír Kopecký, 1999, p. 29 It is covered by wildly colored drips, brush marks and hand smears. They are fading under the deposits in cinder-like structures, in bizarre patterns of trickling streams. The clear prisms lose their mass by blackening, as if they are sinking into a spaceless darkness. The object is a synthesis of creative endeavours and belongs to the highlights of Kopecký's work, but after the exhibition it was destroyed and preserved only in photographs. Broken pieces of rails have become an important structural element of his installations.Primusová A, in: Vladimír Kopecký, 2019 In his smaller objects, glass is sandwiched into a colourful whole with segments of rails, bricks or wood (''Afternoon Chair'', 1995). Kopecký deprived glass of its tendency towards primary attractiveness by brutal intervention of colour, destruction and combination with other materials such as wood, cardboard and metal (''Search'', Space 3 event, Všemín 1986) In the installation in the ''Prague Castle Ballroom'' in 1999, where black colour dominated, evoking feelings of frustration and loneliness, the dangerous and hurtful sharp edges of the glass stood out from the black mass. Despite all the relentless attack, however, Kopecký's glass remains a material with a perceived essence of fragility and vulnerability. His need for a permanent polarity is evidenced by the fact that, in a parallel posture, the artist allows glass to operate in the purity of a completely minimalist conception of a stereometric shape made of glued flat glass or in the form of multiplied curled shapes made of plate glass, with the implication of something tacitly symbolic between heaven and earth. They act as a counterpoint to his expressionist works, but develop the same human themes of spatial infinity, silence, anxiety and melancholy.


Painting and prints

Similar principles of the encounter of opposites as in his work with glass, apply to Kopecký's painting, which was strongly influenced by abstract expressionism and action painting. From a methodically disciplined, geometrically spare or mysteriously veiled position of dehumanized constructions and buildings (''Street'', 1970, ''Labyrinth'', 1979), he moves to expressive eruptions of colour and animality, to the destruction of the material and the disruption of the viewer's certainty about the notion of beauty. According to Suzanne Frantz, Kopecký's painting is the key to his entire oeuvre. Vladimír Kopecký was not a member of any artistic association in the 1960s and painting was initially a completely private activity for him. At his first solo exhibition at the
Václav Špála Gallery The Václav Špála Gallery (Czech: Galerie Václava Špály) is a Prague gallery of mostly contemporary art. It is located at no. 59/30 Národní třída, in the New Town of Prague (Praha 1 – Nové Město). The gallery holds exhibitions particu ...
in
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
in 1970 he presented himself as a painter and also in 1988 and 1997 he exhibited only paintings. He exhibited the glass for the first time only at his retrospective in 1999. The sadness, skepticism, embarrassment and despair that drove his work in the
Normalization Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...
1970s., led to the necessity to control emotions with reason and to create a firm order in the image In paintings from the late 1960s and 1970s, the artist often chose patterned
linoleum Linoleum is a floor covering made from materials such as solidified linseed oil (linoxyn), Pine Resin, pine resin, ground Cork (material), cork dust, sawdust, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, most commonly on a Hessian fabric, hes ...
as a ground (''Three Pillars'', 1968). The multiplied decors of the floor covering create a monotonous background against which the painting makes an unsettling impression. The
linoleum Linoleum is a floor covering made from materials such as solidified linseed oil (linoxyn), Pine Resin, pine resin, ground Cork (material), cork dust, sawdust, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, most commonly on a Hessian fabric, hes ...
became the basis for a set of tachistic paintings of interior landscapes from the late 1970s and 1980s, but the predominant motifs are of prepared segments of buildings, structures and objects. They are not connected to the background, growing out of unspecifiable space (''Chorale'', 1974). The content of these paintings goes beyond the artist's fascination with the purity of geometric shapes and their composition. Behind them one can suspect a statement about the human condition and basic feelings of loneliness, dehumanization and doubt (''Evening'', 1970). The experience of creating geometric compositions from folded glass elements for architecture also inspired the paintings, which are executed with precise pencil strokes (''400,000 Pencil Lines'', 1969). The process of hatching itself, as a ritual of the will, gives way after many hours of effort to trance and hallucination. File:Vladimír Kopecký, Sám (1969).jpg, Vladimír Kopecký, ''Alone'' 1969 File:Vladimír-Kopecký,-Večer-(1970).jpg, Vladimír Kopecký, ''Evening'' 1970 File:Vladimír-Kopecký,-Ulice-(1972).jpg, Vladimír-Kopecký, ''The street'' 1972 File:Vladimír-Kopecký,-Větší-sloupy-(1969).jpg, Vladimír Kopecký, ''Three pillars'' 1968 File:Vladimír-Kopecký,-Chorál-(1974).jpg, Vladimír Kopecký, ''Hymn'' 1974 From the 1980s onwards, a completely relaxed position of action painting began to prevail in the artist's work. Colours are applied to the canvas in massive layers, dripping, and are disrupted by the intervention of various tools (''Suburbs'', 2001, ''Thousands of Wings'', 2010). Often segments of cut plate glass are applied to the surface of the painting, but also destroyed tangles of various materials. The paintings eloquently document the fact that Vladimír Kopecký finds the experience and the most intrinsic sense of artistic activity in the vividly dramatic process of creation itself, which brutally breaks down the boundaries of the viewer's general idea of the rules of painting (''Beasts'', 1988, ''Ghosts'', 2013). The compositions are not directed towards the effect of a spectacular result, they do not depict or lead to intricately coded symbolic messages. Above all, they breathe with vigour and intoxication from the freedom of working with colour and represent a pure outpouring of emotion.Wohlmuth R, 2018 The artist is a rare solitaire in this field, his work providing an opportunity to authentically experience the fascination of unrestrained energy. However, there is nothing dualistic in Vladimír Kopecký's work; there is no contradiction between order and chaos. Its most distinctive characteristic is inner freedom and the constant exploration of the visual effect. File:Vladimír-Kopecký,-Zášlehy-(2013).jpg, Vladimír Kopecký, ''Flame Out'' 2013 File:Vladimír-Kopecký,-Tisíce-křídel-(2010).jpg, Vladimír Kopecký, ''Thousands of Wings'' 2010 File:Vladimír Kopecký, Močál nelítostné paměti (2012).jpg, Vladimír Kopecký, ''Swamp of Fierce Memory'' 2012 File:Vladimír Kopecký, Crescendo (2012).jpg, Vladimír Kopecký, ''Crescendo'' 2012 File:Vladimír Kopecký, Ballistarius (2016).jpg, Vladimír Kopecký, ''Ballistarius'' 2016 An interesting position of the artist after 2010 are his screen prints, in which he has projected the personal principle of the necessity of alternating opposing positions. Precise linear structures repeat motifs of paintings with constructions in a more artificial and flat form, but there are also apparently intoxicating games with the machine-precise multiplication of rounded lines and their optical illusions (''Very Pleasant Shape'', 2014). As a counterpoint to the streams and layers of colour in his abstract expressionist paintings, they have a new and refreshing look. File:Vladimír Kopecký, Galaxie Horní (2013).jpg, Vladimír-Kopecký, ''Upper Galaxy'' 2013 File:Vladimír-Kopecký,-galaxie-horní-(2014).gif, Vladimír-Kopecký, ''Upper Galaxy'' 2014 File:Vladimír Kopecký, Parabol (2006) II.jpg, Vladimír Kopecký, ''Parabol'' 2006 File:Vladimír Kopecký, Parabol (2006) III.jpg, Vladimir Kopecký, ''Parabol'' 2006 File:Vladimír Kopecký, Zázrak (II).jpg, Vladimír Kopecký, ''Miracle II'' Vladimír Kopecký is one of the most memorable personalities of modern Czech art. The success of his monumental composition at Expo 92 in
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
, in which he used tons of plate glass and literally hectolitres of colour in wild textures and eruptions, testifies to the fact that the fascination with the emotional experience of the unrestrained creation is a language that is completely understandable internationally. Since 1994, he has also presented his elemental and spontaneous artistic expression through performances, in which, accompanied by music (Ravel, Mussorgsky) uses hot cast glass and buckets of acrylic paints and becomes not only the creator but also the subject of the creative process.


Texts

Vladimír Kopecký has been writing poems since 2011 and texts commenting and interpreting his works.


Quotes from the author

''Since I was five years old, I wanted to be a painter. I like painting. I do it with a ravenous appetite, voraciously. I like absolute silence and the storm of the universe.'' ''When I look at a picture painted by me and see something completely incomprehensible, which I not only do not understand, I cannot explain, I am startled by it and I even sense a kind of threat, only then does a powerful experience appear to me, not yet clouded by the mud of interpretation and conventionality. Then it only begins to be right''. ''For me, glass is not the subject of my expression, it is only a means to achieve unknown goals...I do not glorify glass. It is possible to treat it in various ways, even against the established notion of it, i.e. even in an ugly way - I myself coined the term "ugly glass" at the beginning of the 1960s. But I don't mean that glass always has to be like that. All I mean is that if I am after a distinctive idea, not an ornament, then I will ruthlessly strip the skin off the glass, for blood, if necessary.'' ''My point is that the finished thing made of glass should give a deeper meaning to the observer and not merely speak by the properties of the material, which, though unique, are not enough for me to build on. In my work, which is both strictly geometric and spontaneously expressive, I try to express everything that fascinates me: the infinity of space, silence, anxiety and melancholy....''Vladimír Kopecký, 1999, Prague City Gallery, p. 5


Poem

''From the depths''
''to the heights''
''Below the width''
''I cut my misery''
''Into the flesh''
''Of decaying reality''
''And infuse it with''
''Thorough smoke''


Realisations in architecture (selection)

* 1963 Havířov railway station * 1966 Vítkovice railway station * 1966 New Foundland Cultural Center, USA * 1968/70 Olympik Hotel, Prague * 1968/75 Glassworks Kavalier Sázava * 1969 Electrotechnical Testing Institute Prague (mosaic) * 1971 Water Treatment Plant, Želivka * 1973, 1974 Mourning Hall Vsetín, Děčin * 1974 Television transmitter Prague * 1975 Balnea House, Prague, Lázeňský dům Hotel, Karlovy Vary * 1978 Czech Television Studio, Prague * 1979 ČKD Building, Prague * 1981-1982 Bohemia Hotel, Ústí nad Labem * 1984 Insurance company Zwolsche Algemeene, Niuewegein, Holland * 1988 Slavie Hotel, Brno * 1988/89 Konica Showroom, Tokyo * 1989 Štefánik House, (now Legie Hotel), Sokolská 30, Prague 2 * 1992 Mayor's Hall, Toyama City Hall, Japan * 1992 Leonard Dobbs House, Long Island, USA * 1994 Technology Centre, CoburgVladimir Kopecký, Aspekt Gallery, Brno, 2001 * 1996 Bank Gundezenhausen, Germany * 1998 Česká spořitelna, Prague - Perštýn File:Havířov Nádraží,skleněná mozaika.JPG, Vladimir Kopecký, glass mosaic, Havířov Railway Station File:Vladimír Kopecký, Návrh na stucco lustro pro budovu Chemapolu (1973).jpg, Vladimír Kopecký, Design for stucco lustro for Chemapol building 1973 File:Vladimír Kopecký, Hotel Slavia, Brno, 1988.jpg, Vladimír Kopecký, Slavia hotel, plate glass composition, Brno, 1988 File:Vladimír Kopecký, Pilíře, 1998.jpg, Vladimír Kopecký, Pillars, composed plate glass 1998 File:Vladimír Kopecký, Sklárny Kavalier Sázava, 1968-1975.jpg, Vladimír Kopecký, Kavalier Glassworks Sázava, concrete, glass 1968-1975 File:Vladimír Kopecký, Smuteční síň Děčín, vstup, 1974.jpg, Vladimír Kopecký, Mourning Hall in Děčín, entrance, glass door 1974


Representation in collections

*
National Gallery Prague The National Gallery Prague (, NGP), formerly the National Gallery in Prague (), is a state-owned art gallery in Prague, which manages the largest collection of art in the Czech Republic and presents masterpieces of Czech and international fine a ...
*
Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague Founded in 1885, the Prague Museum of Decorative Arts () is housed in a Neo-Renaissance edifice built from 1897 to 1899 after the designs of architect Josef Schulz. It opened in 1900 with exhibitions on the first floor. The museum's rich colle ...
*
Moravian Gallery in Brno The Moravian Gallery in Brno () is the second largest art museum in the Czech Republic, established in 1961 by the merging of two older institutions. It is in five buildings: Pražák Palace, Governor's Palace, Museum of Applied Arts, Jurkovič ...
* Museum of Glass and Jewellery in Jablonec nad Nisou * Gallery Klatovy - Klenová * North Bohemian Museum in Liberec * Benedikt Rejt Gallery, Louny * Glass Museum Nový Bor * Museum of Art Olomouc * East Bohemian Gallery in Pardubice * Pardubice (Chateau), East Bohemian Museum in Pardubice * Czech Museum of Fine Arts in Prague * Prague City Gallery *
Museum Kampa Museum Kampa is a modern art gallery in Prague, Czech Republic, showing Central European, and in particular Czech work. The pieces are from the private collection of Meda Mládek, wife of Jan V. Mládek. The museum opened in 2003 and is housed in ...
* Gallery of Modern Art in Roudnice nad Labem * Collection from IGS Nový Bor, Lemberk Castle * Kunstsammlungen der Veste, Coburg, DE *
Corning Museum of Glass The Corning Museum of Glass is a museum in Corning (city), New York, Corning, New York, United States, dedicated to the art, history, and science of glass. It was founded in 1951 by Corning Incorporated, Corning Glass Works and currently has a ...
, Corning, N.Y., USA * Dudley Museum and Art Gallery, USA *
National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto The is an art museum in Kyoto, Japan. This Kyoto museum is also known by the English acronym MoMAK (Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto). History The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto (MoMAK) was initially created as the Annex Museum of the Nationa ...
, Japan * Musée des Arts Décoratifs de la Ville, Lausanne, CH *
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...
,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, UK * The Lannan Foundation of Contemporary Art, Palm Beach, FL, USA * Musée du verre de Sars-Poteries, F * Yokohama Museum of Art, Japan *
Museum Angewandte Kunst The Museum Angewandte Kunst (MAK) is located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and is part of Frankfurt's Museumsufer (Museum Riverbank). The alternating exhibitions recount tales of cultural values and changing living conditions. Beyond that, the ...
, Frankfurt am Main *
Neue Pinakothek The Neue Pinakothek (, ''New Pinacotheca'') is an art museum in Munich, Germany. Its focus is European Art of the 18th and 19th centuries, and it is one of the most important museums of art of the nineteenth century in the world. Together with t ...
,
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...


Exhibitions


Participation in world exhibitions

*
Expo 58 Expo 58, also known as the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (; ), was a world's fair held on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Brussels, Belgium, from 17 April to 19 October 1958. It was the first major world's fair registered under the Bureau Internati ...
,
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
(with
Adriena Šimotová Adriena Šimotová (1926–2014) was a prominent Czech artist. Known for her work with paper and fabric, she held numerous exhibitions in the Czech Republic and abroad during her lifetime including a retrospective organized by the National Gallery ...
, František Burant) *
Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 28 to October 29, 1967. It was a category one world's fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most s ...
,
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
* Expo 1992,
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...


Solo

* 1970 ''Vladimír Kopecký: Paintings'',
Václav Špála Gallery The Václav Špála Gallery (Czech: Galerie Václava Špály) is a Prague gallery of mostly contemporary art. It is located at no. 59/30 Národní třída, in the New Town of Prague (Praha 1 – Nové Město). The gallery holds exhibitions particu ...
,
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
* 1981 ''Vladimír Kopecký: Paintings, glass objects, drawings'', Sovinec * 1988 ''Vladimír Kopecký: Paintings'', Central Cultural House of Railway Workers,
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
* 1989 ''Vladimír Kopecký: Paintings - Drawings'', Josef Chloupek Studio,
Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
* 1989 ''Vladimír Kopecký'', Essener Glasgalerie (Mareš I),
Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...
* 1990 ''Vladimír Kopecký'', The Azabu Museum of Arts and Crafts,
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
* 1994 ''Vladimír Kopecký'', Galerie Groeneveld,
Almelo Almelo () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands. The main population centres in the town are Aadorp, Almelo, Mariaparochie, and Bornerbroek. Almelo has about 72,000 inhabitants in the middle o ...
,
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
* 1996 ''Vladimír Kopecký'', Studio Glass Gallery,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
* 1997 ''Vladimír Kopecký: Paintings and Sculptures'', Galerie na Jánském Vršku,
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
* 1997 ''Vladimír Kopecký: Paintings'', Emil Filla Exhibition Hall,
Ústí nad Labem Ústí nad Labem (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 91,000 inhabitants and is the capital of the Ústí nad Labem Region. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active river port, is an important railway junction. ...
* 1999 ''Vladimír Kopecký: Retrospective'', City Gallery, Municipal Library,
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
* 2000/01 ''Vladimír Kopecký: Collective Exhibition of Works from 1950 - 2000'', House U Jonáše, East Bohemian Gallery
Pardubice Pardubice (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Repub ...
* 2001 ''Vladimír Kopecký: Paintings, Objects'', Exhibition Hall Sokolská 26,
Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...
* 2001/02 ''Vladimír Kopecký: Intenzita prožitku / Intensity of Experience'', Aspekt Gallery,
Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
* 2002 ''Vladimír Kopecký: Glass'', Gallery of Fine Arts in
Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...
* 2003 ''Vladimír Kopecký: Jaký byl a je'', Gallery of the Academy of Arts and Crafts,
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
* 2003/04 ''Vladimír Kopecký: To the Bitter End'', Aspekt Gallery,
Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
* 2004 ''Vladimír Kopecký: Paintings and Objects'', Veletržní palác,
National Gallery Prague The National Gallery Prague (, NGP), formerly the National Gallery in Prague (), is a state-owned art gallery in Prague, which manages the largest collection of art in the Czech Republic and presents masterpieces of Czech and international fine a ...
* 2004/05 ''Vladimír Kopecký: Paintings'', Gallery of Modern Art in
Roudnice nad Labem Roudnice nad Labem (; ) is a town in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 13,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an Cultural monument (Czech Rep ...
* 2005 ''Vladimír Kopecký'', Navrátil Gallery,
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
* 2007 ''Vladimír Kopecký'', Aspekt Gallery,
Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
* 2011 ''Vladimír Kopecký'', Havelka Gallery,
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
, Galerie Aspekt,
Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
* 2011 ''Vladimír Kopecký: graphic art'', Chateau Valašské Meziříčí, Museum of Art
Olomouc Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region. Located on the Morava (rive ...
* 2014 ''Vladimír Kopecký: Storm and Calm'',
Museum Kampa Museum Kampa is a modern art gallery in Prague, Czech Republic, showing Central European, and in particular Czech work. The pieces are from the private collection of Meda Mládek, wife of Jan V. Mládek. The museum opened in 2003 and is housed in ...
,
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
* 2014 ''Vladimír Kopecký: Summa Summarum'', Dorka Gallery,
Domažlice Domažlice (; ) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservations, urban monument reser ...
* 2016 ''Vladimír Kopecký: Dálky a póly / Distances and Poles'', Špilberk Castle,
Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
* 2017 ''Vladimír Kopecký: Something Third Between Chaos and Order'', North Bohemian Gallery of Fine Arts in
Litoměřice Litoměřice (; ) is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument reservation. The town is the seat of the Roman C ...
* 2017 ''Vladimír Kopecký: Nekonečný třesk / Eternal Struggle'', Moravský Krumlov Castle * 2017 ''Vladimír Kopecký: Geometry'', Kuzebauch Gallery,
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
* 2018 ''Vladimír Kopecký: Na EX!'', Havelka Gallery,
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
* 2018 ''Vladimír Kopecký: Energie'', Museum Kampa - Jan and Meda Mládek Foundation,
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
* 2019 ''Vladimír Kopecký: I devour colour'', Topičův salon,
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
* 2021/2022 ''Vladimír Kopecký: Gloria'', Museum Kampa - Jan and Meda Mládkov Foundation,
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...


Collective

See abART Information Syste
Kopecký Vladimír - exhibitions


References


Sources


Monographs

* Vladimír Kopecký, 184 p., Prague City Gallery, Moraviapress Břeclav 1999, ; * Vladimír Kopecký: Storm and Calm, Martin Dostál (ed.), 270 s., Retro Gallery, Prague 2014,


Catalogues

* Vladimír Kopecký, text by Jindřich Chalupecký, cat. 12 p., Union of Czech Artists, Prague 1970 * Vladimír Kopecký, text by Stanislav Libenský, Masae Nakama, GLASSWORK Kyoto, Japan 1990 * Vladimír Kopecký: Paintings, text by Ivo Janoušek, cat. 24 p., ÚKDŽ, Prague 1988 * Vladimír Kopecký: Intensity of Experience, Aspekt Gallery, Brno 2001 * Vladimír Kopecký, text by Kopecký V, cat. 2 p., Exhibition Hall Sokolská 26, Ostrava 2001 * Vladimír Kopecký: Paintings, text by Miroslava Hlaváčková, cat. 28 p., Gallery of Modern Art in Roudnice nad Labem 2004, ISBN 80-85053-49-7 * Vladimír Kopecký, Oldřich Palata (ed.), Aspekt Gallery, Brno 2007, ISBN 80-238-7954-5 * Vladimír Kopecký, text by Petr Vaňous, Havelka Gallery, Prague 2011 * Vladimír Kopecký: Distances and Poles, text by Ján Gajdůšek, Brno 2016 * Vladimír Kopecký (poems and paintings), photo by Gabriel Urbánek, 200 copies privately published by the author, Prague 2017, ISBN 978-80-270-1215-2 * Vladimír Kopecký: Na EX!!, text by Radek Wohlmuth, Galerie Havelka, Prague 2018 * Vladimír Kopecký: Prostoupení, text by Adriana Primusová, 300 copies privately published by the author, Prague 2019, ISBN 978-80-270-5507-4 * Vladimír Kopecký: Šeptám / I Whisper, text by Helena Musilová, privately published by the author, Prague 2021, ISBN 978-80-270-9840-8


Encyclopedias and general sources

* Josef Raban, Modern Bohemian Glass, Artia, Prague 1963 * Dušan Šindelář, Contemporary Art Glass in Czechoslovakia, Obelisk, Prague 1970 * Pavla Dvorská, Contemporary Monumental Art, Odeon, Prague 1978 * Alena Adlerová Kudělková Königová, Contemporary Glass, Odeon, Prague 1979 * Bénamou Geneviève, L´art aujourd'hui en Tchecoslovaquie, Paris 1979 * Jiří Karbaš, Czech Fine Art in Architecture 1945 - 1985, Odeon, Prague 1985 * Pavla Pečinková, Contemporary Czech Painting, G+B Arts International Limited, East Roseville, 1993, * Jindřich Chalupecký, New Art in Bohemia, H&H Publishing House, Jinočany 1994, * Sylva Petrová, České sklo / Czech Glass, Gallery, Prague 2001 * Helmut Ricke (ed.), Czech Glass 1945–1980. Design in an Age of Adversity, Arnoldsche 2005 * Petr Pivoda, Milan Hlaveš, Glass - Vladimír Kopecký & from his school, MA'MA Club Gallery, Ostrava 2015 * Jana Kunešová, Milan Hlaveš, The Story of Bohemian Glass, Museum of Decorative Arts, National Museum of Korea 2015, ISBN 978-80-7101-147-7 * Milan Hlaveš et al. (ed.), 7 + 1, Masters of Czech Glass, Museum Kampa - Jan and Meda Mládek Foundation, Prague 2016, ISBN 978-80-87344-32-3 * Sylva Petrová, Czech Glass, 428 p., Academy of Arts and Crafts in Prague, Prague 2018, ISBN 978-80-87989-50-0 * Caterina Tognon, Sylva Petrová (eds.), Vetro boemo: i grandi maestri / Bohemian Glass: The Great Masters (Václav Cigler, Vladimír Kopecký, Stanislav Libenský, Jaroslava Brychtová, René Roubíček, Miluše Roubíčková, con / with Josef Sudek), Skira editore, Milano 2023, ISBN 978-88-572-4985-
on-line


Other

* České ateliéry / Czech studios (71 contemporary artists ), 2005, Art CZ, Prague, * Hynek Glos, Petr Vizina, Stará garda / Old Guard, Argo, Prague 2016, pp. 108–115, ISBN 978-80-257-1881-0


External links


Information system abART: Vladimír Kopecký



Ondřej Pokorný, Caress And Torment The Soul, Spacial Magazine, 12.4.2022


* [http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/porady/10267558128-vytvarnicke-konfese/211563231150006-vladimir-kopecky/ Výtvarnické konfese: Vladimír Kopecký / Artistic Confessions: Vladimír Kopecký, Czech TV 2011, directed by Petr Skala]
Vladimír Kopecký: Bolero Performance Bolero, YouTube video, 13,49 min

Prof. Vladimír Kopecký, 80 years, Czech radio Vltava 2011



i-DNES, 1999, Glass by Vladimír Kopecký, i-DNES, 1999

Vladimír Kopecký, Prague Art

Vladimír Kopecký, Aspekt Gallery 2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kopecký Vladimír Czech painters Czech glass artists Czech artists Academic staff of the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague Living people 1931 births