Published by Lucie Aboegla, Domus Artis
We are delighted to introduce Studio IRDS, the creative world of Ingrid Račková and David Suchopárek, two remarkable Czech artists whose work in optical glass art opens a dialogue between light, colour, form, and space. In this intimate interview, released in several parts over the coming weeks, we invite you to step gradually into their artistic universe and discover the beauty and complexity of their process.
Through this conversation, you will learn more about the inspiration behind their individual projects, the fascinating journey of creating optical glass sculptures and glass paintings, and the unique experience of working together as an artistic duo. The interview also reveals the challenges, discoveries, and moments of excitement that accompany each stage of creation, while showing how essential light is as a living medium that brings glass artworks fully to life.
Our path led us to the village of Třtice, where, in a place embraced by the serene landscape of Central Bohemia, Ingrid Račková and David Suchopárek of Studio IRDS shape their remarkable artistic world. The village is surrounded by a picturesque landscape of small ponds and gently wooded hills, lending the place a quiet, almost timeless beauty.
Their studio is housed within their beautiful village home, and from the moment one steps inside, it feels as though one has entered another world. The beauty and singularity of the optical glass sculptures, together with the glass paintings adorning the walls, create the impression of crossing a portal into another dimension. Time seems to stand still here. Our attention is immediately drawn to a group of small, colourful pyramids displayed on a stand by the door. Ingrid begins to speak.
Ingrid: Here is the series inspired by the French painter Paul Cézanne. The composition of colours and shapes recalls his way of combining cool and warm tones.
We combine coloured glass forms with small glass sculptures that are created spontaneously, unrestrained and free. When we send photographs of our works to someone, for example a potential client, it is not always easy for them to imagine the actual scale. These pieces range from 8 to 15 cm, and this particular series is very compact and practical, which also makes it less demanding in terms of transport.
David: This series is also historically important for us, because it is closely connected with the beginnings of our work in this field. At the time when we started, we had small children and we did not yet have a workshop or grinding studio, so we began by making smaller objects, as they were easier to create under those conditions. Most importantly, through them we learned how to work with the material, how to use colour properly, how to understand angles and proportions, and how to learn from mistakes. It was a process of trial and error. In a way, these works are studies.
Why does this series bear the name of Cézanne, and how does his influence live within these works?
Ingrid: The inspiration came from Paul Cézanne, the French Post-Impressionist painter who influenced many twentieth-century art movements. Cézanne was famously fascinated by Mont Sainte-Victoire, which he painted repeatedly in different seasons of the year, and that inspired us deeply. We wanted to work within his colour palette, or rather within his colour spectrum. He often used light tones and played with the contrast between warm and cool shades, and that is precisely what we incorporated into this Cézanne series. Here you can see how the warm and cool hues gradually alternate.
We even took one of those objects to Mont Sainte-Victoire itself and photographed it there.
That feels incredibly meaningful, as if the series completed a circle by returning to the landscape that first inspired Cézanne himself! David, could you please describe your process when creating an object like this, whether on a smaller or larger scale?
David: Definitely. I cut the optical glass, grind the shapes, assemble them, polish them, and glue them together. The pieces are bonded one by one, entirely cold-worked. You cannot achieve this kind of cut and ground glass by working hot, because in the furnace the glass is hot and deformed in order to be joined. Here you have time. You can observe it, think about it. In the hotshop, you only have seconds.
Another important point is that the optical refractions in hot-worked glass are of a completely different character from those in cut glass. Cut glass breaks the light in a prismatic way. We work most often with the pyramid form, because the glass has depth, it has colour, and as it narrows toward the tip, it changes colour. As I place the individual pieces of glass together, smooth gradients begin to emerge. In this way, from only a few colours, I create many additional tones, and that is what I work with.
That is really the magic of these objects: when you move around our glass sculptures, or walk around them, more and more shades of colour begin to appear and shift before your eyes.
Regarding the optical glass blocks, they are also produced in different thicknesses. From these, you can cut out a piece, or place it in a kiln and melt it into a mould so that it is cast. Or, if you are bold enough, you can take the optical block to the saw, cut out these forms, and assemble them together. That then allows the work to exist on a much larger scale, which would otherwise be very difficult to achieve.
Sometimes the process is improvisational. At times you keep arranging the parts together and nothing feels right, or it simply does not work, so you continue trying different combinations and nothing comes of it. Other times, it comes together relatively quickly.
Ingrid: One also has to work very carefully with the colours, with the way they blend into one another, so that everything functions together harmoniously.
Part 1 offers only a first glimpse into the world of Studio IRDS. Another exciting chapter of the interview will be released next week, revealing more about their creative journey, their techniques, and the subtle dialogue between glass and light.
