Jedno/duchost (Jablonec nad Nisou)

The Czech word “jednoduchost“, meaning simplicity, might itself appear simple at first glance. Yet scratch beneath the surface, and you might just find hidden layers – both in linguistics and content. That’s when we begin seeing it as a combination of two parts – jedno (one) and duchost (spirituality) – each of which suddenly carries a specific meaning. Jednoduchost (simplicity) then needs to be understood as more than the straightforward “opposite of complexity”, but as a state in which the one – that is, unity, wholeness, indivisibility – is combined with spirituality – the quality of the spirit, inner intensity, and the presence of that which is intangible. And in this light, jednoduchost is not something that is in principle impoverished or limited, but a value that is concentrated, essential, and cleansed of the superfluous.

The word jedno (one) in Czech is multifaceted. It can be a numeral, a pronoun, or an abstract noun. In common use, it denotes a unit, the first in order, but at a deeper level it can represent the principle of wholeness and absolute. Then there is duchost (spirituality) – a neologism that is not commonly used, but which has natural linguistic effect. It is formed by combining the root “duch” (spirit) and the suffix “-ost”, which is used to form abstract nouns denoting state or quality. Unlike duchovnost (also spirituality), which is generally used in a religious context, duchost can be neutral – non-ideological, non-institutionalized. It is a category that can exist without faith, but with powerful inner experience.

The title of the exhibition, jedno/duchost, therefore represents a synthesis of form and content. On the one hand, it evokes a tendency towards a purist visual language, and on the other it brings together the components that intertwine in the works of Studio IRDS: jedno (one) as the principle of formal concentration, duchost (spirituality) as the expression of an intangible, spiritual dimension that transcends the material essence of glass. The slash between them is more than just a graphic element – it is a reference to the diagonal that is directly reflected in the morphology of the exhibited works. As a gesture of movement, intersection, and tension, it appears both in the compositions of layered sheet-glass pictures by Ingrid Račková and in the structural diagrams of laminated, cut pieces from the optical glass melts of David Suchopárek.

The exhibition presents a selection of projects from the last two years that were created as independent solitary pieces and with the idea of visual interventions that purposefully activate and transform the perception of the environment in which they are found. Both artists work with geometrizing language, although this does not build on cold rationality – on the contrary, in fact, through the precision or rhythm of lines, surfaces, and shapes, they give room to emotions and visual contemplation. In this sense, the exhibited pieces are “things of one spirit”: they maintain the unity of expression and the principle of spirituality that is latently present in their work.

Ingrid Račková literally builds her glass pictures, the composition of which she gradually abstracted from a figure, so as to apply to their foundation, in addition to acrylic painting and pencil drawing, intermediate layers of air that create a hidden space of emptiness and give her work an additional dimension. Similarly, the dynamics of the structures, in which she combines an intuitive process with research, change in response to movement, and the fluorescent colours unexpectedly invigorate the darkness of night.  David Suchopárek, meanwhile, approaches glass as a sculptural medium in which the language of matter, proportion, light, and meaning are all interconnected. His work is characterized by the ability to switch between symbolic abbreviation and mathematics, between emotion and clearly-defined shape, between abstraction and testimony to the nature of being.

The works of Ingrid Račková and David Suchopárek show two distinctive approaches to working with glass, differing in method and expression. Yet they are connected by respect for the material, the possibilities it offers, and meaningful compatibility. At the same time, they represent the current shift in artistic expression in glassmaking: from the decorative to conceptual thinking, from detached craftsmanship to artistic creativity, from object to experience. The jedno/duchost exhibition is therefore primarily a way to slow down, to perceive shape as a bearer of meaning, light as a medium of spirituality, and glass as a material that can convey the invisible. The greatest depth is often found in simplicity (jednoduchost) – precisely because it holds that one and that spirituality (jedno and duchost). And perhaps it is a result of this synthesis that space is generated for genuine understanding, peace, and inner balance.