Slovakia
From 1993 to 1999 the glass artist Oliver Lesso studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava, Slovakia, were his creations were already attracting the attention of the media and his peers. Born in Bratislava in 1973 and at the young age of 26 Oliver received the highest honour (the IAA Rector’s Award) at his graduation for his remarkable achievements and contribution towards contemporary glass creation.
The main principles of his glass art are based upon the glass’ optical qualities, light reflexes and the significant relationship arisen between the internal and external space. The form of the glass sculptures arrives from the geometric line, the nature and its processes inspire it. His passion for the glass medium is on an equal footing with the classic sculptural materials. Oliver has as profound an esteem for glass as the classicists had for bronze, stone, marble or wood.
The genius and expertise that goes into making Oliver’s glass sculptures, coupled with a deep understanding of the glass’ specific properties, explore the communicative power that it has to us. Most notable are his highly transparent solids, each taking many months of hand grinding and polishing, which pay particular emphasis to internal structures. These seemingly tangible structures, with their delicate icy, frosted honeycomb arrangement within, are all that is visible to the eye; their purified clarity seemingly contradicting the overall solidity of his minimalist pieces.
The inner architecture created in his work, which resembles a stack of thin tissue paper, demonstrates his love for geometric shapes. It seems as if the internal ‘skeleton’ acts as the main foundation for the overall structure, without which disintegration would come about. This ‘material-immaterial’ quality resonates in many of his pieces. Oliver’s singular approach to his art reveals his sensitivity and pure devotion to this liquid-solid substance.
Personal Statement
“In my glass sculpture I work with the simple closed space together with a limited amount of basic geometric shapes. With different cuts into the material I address the clear shape and form individual statements.”
“I prefer not to follow the path of creating segmented volumes. Glass specifically, or the glass, as the specific material, enables me infinite statements in one shape – for example, the hemisphere. My natural application of glass and its transparent qualities does not close the internal space but only limits it and thus, it makes possible for me to express many ideas and feelings in a certain shape. I work with the unique feature of this medium and address a simple shape through various entries to closed spaces – With the optical features of glass I develop the internal architecture and by a sensitive and tentative interference I brand in my individual approach and originality to this marvellous material.”