Sculptor Josef Marek Info - Sculpture.org

The sculptor and glass artist, Josef Marek (born1963), for the past few years is living and working between Nicosia, Cyprus and Nový Bor in North Bohemia.

His main focus is in re-melting glass in moulds and glass cutting or polishing . Being trained as a glass worker many years ago and re-melting glass in electric furnaces gave him the opportunity to complete his outstanding projects .

From the moment he stepped onto the glass art scene , he has participated in many group exhibitions in Europe and overseas. He had seven solo exhibitions in Toyama, Japan as well as exhibitions in Paris , Frýdek CR, Malmö , The Hague , Leerdam and now in Hamburg.

Josef Marek studied at the Secondary School of Applied Arts for Glass making in Kamenicky Senov (1978-1982). After graduating he became a glass cuter in Crystalex. He also worked as a teacher in the Technical School of Glass making in Kamenicky Senov(1986-1989 ).In that time,

After the "Velvet Revolution " (1989 ) , when admission to a school was not decided based on political views , but only by precondition for creative art work he was accepted at the Academy of Art,architecture and design in Prague.

For two years he studied in the special glass department of Professor Vladimír Kopecký (1990-1992) , then moved to the department of glass in architecture under professor Karel ,who had closer ideology and ideas ( 1992-1996).

After graduating from college (1997-2000) he worked as a visiting professor in Japan Toyama Glass Institute.

During his time in Japan he became interested in remelting of glass in moulds, and combining glass with stone continuing on his earlier work. A new technique for him was to work with polished stainless steel and copper plates which he combined with glass.

Since returning to the Czech Republic he has created more compelling and visually stimulating works influenced from the culture of the land of the rising sun. He often combines glass with natural materials ( often with basalt ) as illusionary space consisting of transparent and opaque mass and maximum contrasts are impressive and convincing. However, his work is dominated by sculptures made only out of glass. He seeks maximum simplicity, but enriches it with details on the surface and inside the mass. He also uses other glass techniques such as structural etching and, the almost forgotten, glue-chipping surface or tarnishing . Still, he prefers Crystal glass with sealed plastic details and during the creation of his sculptures uses procedures developed over the time. He also likes to use colored glass and occasionally still combines glass with natural materials like stones . This gives his work uniqueness and individuality. The procedures , which he uses are only his " production " secrets and thus guarantee the unrepeatable originality of everything he creates .

Antonín Langhamer Jablonec 2014

JOSEF MAREK

Czech Republic/Cyprus sculptor

Home:00357 99601024

Cell : 00420 607736581

Email: pepikm@yahoo.com

Website:www.josefmarek.com

Education

1978-1982 Secondary school of glass art, Kamenický Šenov

1990-1996 University of Arts and Architecture ,Prague-Glass in Architecture

1994-1995 Alfred University N.Y., USA

Work Experience

1982-1986 glass worker , Crystalex , Nový Bor

Art and craft Teacher, SOÚ sklářské, Kamenický Šenov

1989-1990 Designer and director of art glass experimental workshop, Umělecká řemesla, Prague

1997-2000 Visiting Professor, Toyama City Institute of Glass Art, Japan

Lectures: University of Sunderland UK, Contemporary Art Glass Society UK,Staffordshire University U.K.

Selected Exhibitions:

1991 Galerie Václava Špály, Praha

1991 Water Reservoir, Barcelona

1993 Hrad Sovinec

1994 Holsten Gallery, USA

1994-1996 Rob Van Den Doel Gallery, Holandsko

1995 Umělecko-průmyslové muzeum, Praha, Cena Swarovského

1995-1996 Galerie Langův Dům, Frýdek

1996 Národní technické muzeum, Praha

1998 Chappell Gallery, USA

1998 DAY.I.Can, Toyama, Japonsko

1998 Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum, Seto, Japonsko

1998 Museum of Modern Art, Takaoka, Japonsko

1998 Enomoto Gallery, Osaka, Japan

1998 Venezia Aperto Vetro 98, Italie

1998 Auction in aid of Sue Ryder Foundation, The Studio Glass Gallery, Londýn

1998 Glasgalerie Hittfeld, Německo

1999 The second contemporary glass exhibition in Satsuma, Japonsko

2000 Japanese Connections, The Studio Glass Gallery,Londýn

2002 Stone and glass, Czech Embassy, Tokyo, Japonsko

2004/05 Praha/Aichi-Japan-EXPO 2005~“V zajetí světla a prostoru“

2006 Masters of Modern Munchen

2006 SOFA Chicago

2007 SOFA Chicago

2008 Reflections on Contemporary Glass,Museum of art,santa Fe,New Mexico

2008 20 Jahre glasgalerie hittfeld:“Drei generationen“

2009 Connections-Contemporary european glass sculpture.

2012 Lei see,Koru contemporary art gallery Honk Kong

2015 Masters of Modern Munchen

Solo Exhibitions:

1999 Josef Marek – Glass Sculptures, Kaki Gallery, Toyama, Japonsko

2002 Give and Take, The Studio Glass Gallery, Londýn

2003 Josef Marek-skleněné plastiky,Galerie Langův dům,Frýdek

2010 Josef Marek-sculptures/ galerie Frank Picon,Paris

2013 Josef Marek-glass space,Galerie Minerva,Malmo,Sweden

2013 Josef Marek –glass sculptures Broft galéry Den Haag

2014 Josef Marek –glass sculptures ,Broft Gallery Leerdam

2014 Josef Marek-illusive space.Stoelting gallery ,Hamburg

2015 Josef Marek-glass sculptures,gallery of cultural center Cvikov CR

Work in Public Collections:

Toyama Museum of Glass,Japan

Glasmuseum,Ernsting Stifftung,Coesfeld,Germany

Barbara Achilles stiftung,Hamburk,Germany

Blioteka Alexandria,Egypt

Východočeské museum Pardubice

Competitions awords:

New glass review competition – 1992, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000,2005, Corning, USA,

Price of Daniel Swarowski – 1995

Art Buzz 2008 collection the bookUSA -second price

Nicosia Conference center art competition,3d price.

I believe I am not the first to notice that what Josef Marek has achieved in his visions and has materialised in his glass sculptures is certainly extraordinary and hugely
important. It is a monumental contribution to the cause of consciously attaining our totality in beauty and beatitude, to the cause of the knowledge of our Self in a state of silent and humble methexis (μέθεξις)* of the Primordial Beauty.

“We mostly live in Shadows. Greatest mysteries, silent all pervading Truths,
are written in the language of myths and poetry and in the silent language of sculptures”.

Are we guessing at shadows in firelight? Are we trapped in sensory modalities?
This is the essence of the platonic Myth of the Cave. Can one positively experiment on the Myth? I must answer "yes".
And this is how to do it sculpturally:

Ideas, universal Forms, come and seize your mind. It simply happens. The rest is just hard work. Carefully stage lines and surfaces,volumes and cavities, presence and absence, paths of light and shadows, all in glass, all in various degrees of transparency. Set up the alchemical laboratory of the senses and the perceiving mind. Then... snap ! An undeniable illusion is suddenly standing in front of our very own puzzled eyes. The ordinary senses are ceasing, stopping, slowing down from wandering endlessly. An illusion with no tangiblematerial/ substratum has opened the gate that leads from the tangible to the Idea. Nous (Mind) emerges, seeing inside itself, coming to itself,
seeing beyond the spatiotemporal, mainly proccessual, functional walls and boundaries raised by the gravity and the opacity of the sensible three dimensional, limited, commonplace objects.

Freed from gravity and opacity, the Mind is sliding over academic chatter, to enter into this silent,non verbal visual lab and ponder on the eternal non-individualistic truths about our hidden Oneness, our one and only essence as responsive and experiencing beings. In full splendour and with convincing power,

aided by Marek distinctively clear sculptural visualisation , the most abstract elements of the platonic Myth of the Cave are facing us, ready to discuss with us, but impossible to argue with us –since Ideal Beauty excludes the option of arguing. This is the summit of the human mysteries.

“We mostly live in Shadows.
Greatest mysteries, profound Truths
are written in the language of myths, poetry and in the silent language of sculptures”.

Antonios Sophocleus Evangelinos, Aioleus,

physicist,ontologist, philosopher 14.02.2014, Lesvos

* methexis (μέθεξις as written in Greek) means wide awake conscious ( or even super
conscious) participation, assimilation, corroboration and ontological union, in the most profound, deep, meaningful and holistic non-fragmentary way.