Zuzana Kubelkova

Glass fuser

Tomas Princ ©Zuzana Kubelkova

©Gabriel Urbanek

Thinking outside the glass box

Zuzana creates dynamic pieces of glass fused with other substances
She experiments with materials including fibreglass and basalt
She won the Young Glass 2017 prize in Denmark

Zuzana Kubelková trained in glassmaking in North Bohemia. She creates glass objects, installations, paintings and drawings. Her main interest lies in combining glass with other materials and techniques, using their different characteristics to search for new experimental processes. Zuzana is open to all techniques especially casting and blowing, she experiments with colours, structures and chemicals. Since 2007, she has been involved in various exhibition projects and has successfully participated in international competitions, most recently receiving first prize at Young Glass 2017 in the Danish town of Ebeltoft, Achilles Stiftung prize at Cobrug Glass Prize 2022 and in the same year the third prize in Milano Vetro under 35 in Italy. Her objects are on show at Veste Coburg in Germany, in Glasmuseet Ebeltoft in Denmark and in many private collections all over the world.

Interview

Tomas Princ ©Zuzana Kubelkova

After your studies, what came next?: I started to make my own pieces in my father’s workshop, so it was easier for me because I already had a workshop available. I also began to work for some companies creating things like lighting sculptures, 3D visualisations or glass installations, but as a freelancer.
What was the first glass object you made?: It was a cut glass object with a very pink colour. We sent it to Toronto for an exhibition and it stayed there because they bought it, so I no longer have it. It was great and maybe this is why I continued to make glass objects.
What inspires your work?: My inspiration comes from materials. I try to find different materials and then transform them in order for me to use them in another way. This is my first inspiration, and then there’s nature and other things such as architecture in the city.
What do you love most about your craft?: I really like it when I open the kiln and see what’s in there! With fibreglass I cannot imagine how it will work in the kiln. Normally I plan how the pieces will look, but they can turn out differently. I love this moment because when I see the object sometimes I have to think again and totally change it.

Zuzana Kubelkova is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2012