Jaroslav Horejc (1886–1983) was a distinguished Czech sculptor and designer who was celebrated for his significant contributions to fine and applied arts. His extensive body of work encompasses sculpture, glass design, and decorative arts, reflecting the rich artistic movements of his time.
Education
He studied at the Specialized School of Jewelry and, in Prague, 1906-10, the School of Applied Arts. Horejc dedicated his creative energies to sculpture and applied arts. While he considered sculpture the focal point of his artistic endeavours, he gained widespread recognition for his contributions to applied arts. Throughout his long life, Horejc’s work was often perceived as a solitary artistic expression, distinct from the main currents of modern Czech sculpture. This perception shifted with the retrospective incorporation of his oeuvre into the Art Deco movement during the 1980s and 1990s, allowing for a comprehensive evaluation of his work.
Biography
From 1912, he collaborated with the cooperative Artel and designed Cubist ceramic vases.
Between 1918-48, he was a metal-work professor at the School of Applied Arts, Prague. He designed metal latticework and screens with architect Jan Kotera and others. He created essential works in glass, including four famous cut and engraved pieces: 1921 Bacchus, 1922-23 Canaan, 1923 Dance, and 1924 Three Goddesses. These carved figures combined the past with the modern world. He designed unique jewellery in the Art Deco style and a 1937 cut-glass monumental relief, The Earth and the Men, for the Palace of Nations, Geneva. From 1922, he worked at the Stephen Rath Glassworks.
Recognition
He received the grand prize (for a cut glass collection) at the 1925 Paris Exposition International des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes.
Sources
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.
Newman, H. (1987). An Illustrated Dictionary of Glass: 2,442 entries, including definitions of wares, materials, processes, forms, and decorative styles, and entries on principal glass-makers, decorators, and designers from antiquity to the present. Thames and Hudson.
Sandon, J. (2003). Antique glass. Antique Collectors’ Club.
Wood, G. (2003). Essential Art Deco. Bulfinch Press.
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