Upon gazing at Laszlo Lukacsiʼs work, whether it is a ʻFanʼ, a ʻPebbleʼ, or a ʻRhomboidʼ, among other of his works, one beholds that a true visionary would be needed to create such timeless art. The sublime visual language of his glass sculptures stimulates the senses. You are drawn to it...you have no choice! The powerful optical illusions of depth are intriguing and the compelling visual play put to use in his creations has enormous significance to him as well as to the viewer.
Applying the cold-working technique Laszlo slowly and meticulously builds his layered glass using a combination of float, coloured and reflective glass. Following the lengthy lamination process the final form and surface of his sculptures is achieved by arduous grinding, polishing and acid etching.
His reverence for the medium is unequivocal and this is especially apparent in his seemingly delicate and breathtakingly elegant ʻFanʼ series for which he has become recognised. Like the Ohm is a universal symbol of creation, the Fan has become the ohm of his vocabulary. The telltale lines of lamination that can be seen are like chords and notes; the analogy with music leaps out just as true when the aesthete Andrea Máthé had written about Lukacsiʼs work a few years back.
At my initial meeting with Laszlo, I sensed a man with a mission. A man that has so many ideas, yet such little time to realise them all. Nevertheless he is patient, calm and with a worldly aura about him. With him, perfection is a state of mind and not an option. For the sake of the cause Laszlo will go to many lengths to achieve. A harness-kind of contraption hangs above his grinding booth with which he straps himself and pulls the chains to elevate horizontally right above the weighty glass piece. Ingeniously, Laszlo figured that it would be the best way for self preservation. To hang there, horizontally just above his work whilst he grinds this hefty piece with hardly any pressure on his back. Inventive in many ways than one!
The sensational transformation that the light plays with his pieces is to a great degree due to his use of reflective glass which soak up the light. This is married with dark glass to mimic shadows which create this dramatic illusion of depth in what is intentionally a very thin multi-layered glass object, ground to a sliver. This kind of stratagem is most obvious in his Rhomboid series, but Laszlo also goes into great lengths to achieve this mirage in his majestic Fan series.
The ʻPebbleʼ brings to mind a stone fallen to Earth from another planet, alien but at the same time organically familiar and very inviting to the touch. At a distant this celestial object sits there inconspicuous in its dark hue and only reveals itself as one approaches it. Once near a different realm of colour and brightness appears, intoxicating the senses with its sudden revelation. A glass-scape of magnificent colour with natural references and perspectives.
Once asked what the goal of his art is Lukacsi replied “I would like to show the beauty of the material”. He undoubtedly has accomplished that with his ever so graceful glass art, but I reckon that this is only the beginning.
Leo Duval
Plateaux Gallery