Interviews with two representatives each of ten areas of applied and desing art on their own careers and the current state of profession | The artists talked to Hedvig Dvorszky and László Attila Márton

- How did you find your way to the area in which you became a well-known and recognised artist?
- In which of your works do you think you succeeded in realising the objectives you had set?
- What is the current situation and the future of your profession like? What are its opportunities?

I regarded the architectural glass window as an integral unit of planar, colour and light structure, which, besides functioning as a spatial divider, from the perspective of the observer exerts its effect in light arriving from the back and constantly changing. Thus, it is a kind of light controller and contributes to defining the atmosphere of the interior, with the laws of the applied arts and painting being equally applicable to it. In the case of old stained glass, the light control function and the narrative role were of prime importance. I created my artistic approach against this narrative quality. For example, I have kept the use of the lead rail, an old technology, but I shifted the focus from the painting of glass to the composition of form and colour. Through my work I wanted to demonstrate my commitment to new ways of expression. New materials and technologies keep providing opportunities for an artist that might lead to unprecedented, new modes of expression. In contrast, during conservation and restoration, monument protection, ethical, professional, technical and many other considerations must be taken into account. The works of the greatest masters have become treasures of our national heritage; they connect the past and the present, and form part of our culture and human essence.

The Hungarian glass industry has completely changed in the last thirty years. A great many glass factories have closed down, and the scope of glass design tasks has narrowed. The newly emerged architectural demand for glass has led to the creation of many new industrial and commercial centres of a European standard, where artists are also given the chance to do design work and they even get help to implement their projects. There are artists who have their own studios, where they make unique or small-series applied arts objects, which they can sell in the retail sector as well as in the domestic or international gallery network. some artists use glass as a medium, working with the unique properties of glass, or, placing glass in a context with other materials, they latch on to contemporary fine art. This branch of Hungarian glass art is the best known both domestically and internationally. Ten years ago, I, my wife and my son established the Hefter glass art gallery, which promotes this kind of art.

 Interview concucted by Hedvig Dvorszky

I have always felt closer to the design and making of objects of everyday use, so I started to study glass-blowing, a warm-glass technology, more closely. I completed my degree project –a set of centrifuged bowls – at Ajka Chrystal Glass Industrial Ltd. As a result of this successful cooperation, after my degree project’s defence, in 1997, I started working as a designer at the glass factory. During the 18 years I spent there I had the opportunity to learn about the various types of glass and glass production technologies, as well as the extremely versatile glass polishing.

My eclectic style developed thanks to the wide range of opportunities that became available to me, such as glass-blowing, moulding, the combination of colour and colourless glass, at Ajka Chrystal, a factory looking back on a prestigious history. In addition to the optical and sensory illusions produced by the refraction of light in glass, the play and interaction of glass and light, I am interested in forms that stretch the boundaries of functionality, and in the emotional responses they trigger. I have always tried to show the special optical properties of glass and have invariably realised this ambition the most successfully when I turned to the Viennese Jugendstil, the American Art Deco, and the modern painting style known as Op-art for inspiration.

The viability of Hungarian glass factories is deteriorating. The same can be said of the international scene, at least in Europe. Only factories where machine production is used have been able to survive. The manufactories did not. The market for hand-made products is becoming ever narrower; such objects are labelled as luxury items. So there are fewer and fewer craftsmen who make hand-made glass objects: there are hardly any glass-blowers and glass-grinders these days. This kind of training has even come to an end. The way I see it now is that glass design, as a separate branch of design, has no future. What I have observed about the young generation is that only those with sufficient capital to set up their own studio, where they can make their own, unique glass sculptures or combine glass with other materials, have a chance. The design of glass items for everyday use is increasingly rare, and virtually no one undertakes factory design tasks.

Interview conducted by László Attila Márton