CGD

In 2017, the renaissance of contemporary Czech glass encompassed yet another traditional and iconic producer. The Rückl glassworks have been producing hand-made crystal in the Central-Bohemian city of Nižbor since 1846. But only now has the brand received an utterly new artistic and commercial direction, outlined by the new creative team headed by the designer Rony Plesl, who simultaneously became its new art director. Valorizing the master craft of the factory, Plesl created a self-contained collection of decorative glass in which the traditional craftsmanship is shifted onto a new level of contemporary design. The eclectic collection of glass accessories, entitled Czech Heaven, celebrates Czech history and its luminaries. An array of iconic figures and legends, including the heritage of Rudolf II's alchemists, the fabulous Golem, music by Dvořák, the literary visions of Josef Čapek and others, is here embodied into sensitively elaborated vessels, glasses and bowls in Plesl's characteristic style, combining sharply cut edges, poetic minimalism and decorative symbolism. But it is not just the glass collection which represents the new image of the Rückl brand. For its new chapter is an example of a generous and painstakingly elaborated creative project, an inseparable part of which is the new visual style by Studio Najbrt, the brilliant design of packaging by Studio Činčera, as well as the cooperation with the Quarta architects who took care of the brand's original debut presentation at Designblok 2017 in the form of a tasteful funfair shooting range.

Adam Štěch