Borek Sipek

BOREK SIPEK (Prague, Czech Republic, 1949-2016).
Cup.
Yellow uranium glass.
Measurements: 29 x 25 x 25 cm.
Borek Sipek has become one of the key figures of post-modernist design craftsmanship, not only for the success of his creations, but also for the role he played in safeguarding the Czech glass industry. His unique and unparalleled language bears the label of "neo-baroque", crossing national borders and becoming a benchmark on the international market. In its seemingly random mixture of styles from different periods and materials hides an elaborate study based on calculation and technical innovation. In this way, organic shapes combine with sharp corners and edges, while the multiplicity of materials used (metal, leather, porcelain, blown glass, etc.) give his creations a unique and totally transgressive character.
This luminous glass made of yellow uranium glass combines the smooth shapes of the surface with the foliated handles that run around the vessel.
Borek Sipek trained in interior design at the Prague School of Arts and Crafts. He completed his studies in architecture at the University of Applied Arts in Hamburg and philosophy at the Technical University of Stuttgart, before setting up his design studio in Amsterdam in 1983. In the 1980s he began collaborating with Driade, for whom he designed furniture and objects characterised by their tremendous originality, a collaboration that was decisive for the success of his career. At Driade he became one of the brand's main collaborators alongside Philippe Starck, Oscar Tusquets and Antonia Astori. He was later one of the initiators of the construction of the Ajeto glass factory to support the traditions of Bohemian glassblowing, where the best craftsmen dedicated themselves to the creation of high-level pieces. He firmly entered Milan's design circles, where he was invited to collaborate with Alessi, Cleto Murani, Sawaya & Moroni, Wittmann and the Swiss brand Vitra. In the late 1980s, he travelled to Asia, where he became acquainted with the Japanese polychrome lacquer technique: he created an atypical Urushi Arai collection, where his usual techniques for glass were rendered in wood. Throughout his career he has received numerous awards, including an honourable mention in the German Architecture Prize (1983), the Dutch Kho Liang Le Dutch Kho Liang Design Prize (1989), La Croix Chevalier dans l'ordre des Arts et Lettres by the French government (1991), the Prince Bernhard Fonds Prize for Architecture and Applied Arts in the Netherlands (1993) and the Talent De L'Originalite" - Le Sommet du Luxe et de la Creation prize, among others. Between 1990 and 2003 he held the title of court architect of Prague Castle appointed by Václav Havel, president of the former Czechoslovakia, later the Czech Republic.