Palo Macho ”Shirt of my Childhood”
Special Exhibition at Hempel Glass Museum April 27-October 20 2019
IMAGES CAPTURED IN GLASS
– UNIQUE CONTEMPORARY GLASS ART FROM SLOVAKIA
For Hempel Glass Museum it is a great pleasure to contribute to promoting new experimenting glass art from a European country, where a strong tradition and a renewed focus on the importance of the skills and techniques of the handicraft are the basis of fertile experiments and new artistic inspiration.
Slovakian art glass has a long and proud tradition of skilled handicraft. Today it is displayed in all the fields of art glass, such as prism-ground objects, cast sculptures and installations where glass is combined with light sources, photography and other media. Especially interesting are the experiments with various painting techniques on large surfaces of window glass, which are currently being conducted by students and young artists at the Art Academy in Bratislava.
The driving force behind the exploration of painting on glass and other almost forgotten old techniques is the internationally renowned (glass) artist and professor at the Art Academy, Palo Macho. Under his guidance, the students learn to respect and understand the importance of mastering the handicraft skills and at the same time, they are inspired to develop individual, artistic expressions in their works.
Since the mid-1990’es, Palo Macho has been exhibiting intensively in international contexts. His works testify to his huge knowledge of handicraft techniques. By combining drawing, painting and relief structure created on slumped glass, Palo Macho achieves an impressive, evocative expression by often minimalist means such as strokes of the brush, graphic lines and few colours.
The exhibition at Hempel Glass Museum has been made possible through collaboration between Palo Macho, the glass historian and glass critic Pavla Rossini and the museum. Besides the works by Palo Macho, the exhibition displays a selection of works by Macho’s students and shows many examples of the scope in the utilization of glass painting techniques which are not used by Danish glass artists.