2023 ARTIST

OF THE FUTURE

At Imagine Museum, we strive to highlight the most innovative and contemporary glass art. Our institution honors pioneering glass artists annually with our Artist of the Future award.

For 2023, we have chosen two artists, one of which is the German glass artist Wilfried Grootens whose career in the glass industry spans over 50 years. His creativity and mastery of glass techniques represent contemporary glass art’s bright future.

Our second recipient is influential Czech artist Vladimira Klumpar. Klumpar creates both small and large-scale glass sculptures that organically bend and fold in ways one would not expect from glass as a medium. Though her work is abstract, she emphasizes that all of her pieces have a philosophical subtext.

For 2023, we have chosen two artists, one of which is the German glass artist Wilfried Grootens whose career in the glass industry spans over 50 years. His creativity and mastery of glass techniques represent contemporary glass art’s bright future.

Our second recipient is influential Czech artist Vladimira Klumpar. Klumpar creates both small and large-scale glass sculptures that organically bend and fold in ways one would not expect from glass as a medium. Though her work is abstract, she emphasizes that all of her pieces have a philosophical subtext.

WILFRIED

GROOTENS

Early Life

Wilfried Grootens was born in 1954 in the small town of Uedem, Germany, on the Dutch border. Grootens began his career at the age of fifteen in the town of Kevelaer where he apprenticed at the Derix Company as a glass and porcelain painter. After four years of apprenticeship, Grootens left the company and traveled the world for eight years. Taking advantage of his youth, he used these travels as an opportunity to explore all of his many creative interests, not just limited to visual art.

vladimira

klumpar

Early Life

Born in Potštejn, Czechoslovakia, in 1954, Vladimira Klumpar pulls inspiration for her art from the places she has lived, the mentors she has studied under, and even her struggles. The picturesque towns perched atop the Bohemian foothills where Klumpar grew up were her first inspiration for her artwork. The geometric, colorful homes, set against the organic majesty of the natural landscape, forever inspired and informed Klumpar’s style.

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vladimira

klumpar

Early Life

Born in Potštejn, Czechoslovakia, in 1954, Vladimira Klumpar pulls inspiration for her art from the places she has lived, the mentors she has studied under, and even her struggles. The picturesque towns perched atop the Bohemian foothills where Klumpar grew up were her first inspiration for her artwork. The geometric, colorful homes, set against the organic majesty of the natural landscape, forever inspired and informed Klumpar’s style. Due to this influence, Klumpar alternates between organic and geometric shapes with her abstraction. Characterized by a philosophical subtext and poetic playfulness, Vladimira Klumpar’s most notable stylistic inspiration is also an essential figure in the global glass world: Stanislav Libensky. Glass art has a rich and influential history in the Czech Republic. Political turmoil plagued the Czech Republic in the 20th century; because of this, Czech glassmakers were isolated for many years from other styles of glassmaking, like Murano glass made in Italy or the work of American artists in the Studio Glass movement. Artist Stanislav Libensky and his partner Jaroslava Brychtova were at the forefront of the Czech glass world in the 1980s. Libensky taught glass making at the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague, where Vladimira Klumpar earned her Bachelor of Art in 1981. Vladimira Klumpar’s most notable stylistic inspiration is also an essential figure in the global glass world; Stanislav Libensky. Glass art has a rich and influential history in the Czech Republic. Political turmoil plagued the Czech Republic in the 20th century; because of this, Czech glassmakers were isolated for many years from other styles of glassmaking, like Murano glass made in Italy or the work of American artists in the Studio Glass movement. Artist Stanislav Libensky and his partner Jaroslava Brychtova were at the forefront of the Czech glass world in the 1980s. Libensky taught glass making at the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague, where Vladimira Klumpar earnedher Bachelor of Art in 1981. Throughout her seven years in the program, she was mentored, and Stanislav Libensky subsequently influenced her style. Her love of geometry and abstraction are direct influences from Libensky and Brychtova, whose work typically consisted of sizeable abstract cast glass pieces. Libensky and Brychtova favored a more muted palette; even when using color, they chose rich tones and shapes that purposefully formed many shadows. Vladimira Klumpar, on the other hand, has an ongoing obsession with color and how colored glass takes on new shades in various lights.

Career

One of the hallmarks of Vladimira Klumpar’s work is her use of bright colors. Klumpar has said that her love of color and understanding of its importance came from her long-term stays in Mexico. Much of Mexican art, especially folk art and public art, use vivid, vibrant hues to bring two-dimensional pieces to life. Glass as a medium is incredibly unique because it, by default, has more depth and shadow than any other material due to the way that light interacts with glass versus how light interacts with a material like canvas. When color is added, even another layer of depth also gets added to the work, and now at every angle, a piece may appear slightly different or even cast shapes on the scenery around it.
Vladimira Klumpar represents the future of glass because she carries the traditions and techniques of Czech Glass but uses them to forge her unique path. Innovative techniques and a singular style have always been a hallmark of Czech glass, and Vladimira Klumpar continues to uphold this grand tradition with her lovingly designed cast pieces.