Slovenia's modernist glass – between utility and aesthetics

Art for everyday use

Today, the primary collections of modernist glass are held by the National Museum of Slovenia and the Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO). Foto: Tanja Lažetić/Narodni muzej

The National Museum of Slovenia on Metelkova Street has launched an exhibition featuring some 300 glass products. The exhibition serves as an introduction to Slovenia's long tradition of glass design and focuses on modernist glass, even though some of the items on display date back to earlier periods.

Modernist glass design tends to be rare these days because the glass was intended for everyday use, not for being collected. The purpose of the exhibition is to introduce this field of glass design to the public.
While preparing for the exhibition, the organizers had the opportunity to find as many "missing pieces" as possible. Based on photos, they knew which items had been exhibited at past events but were no longer found in any of the musuem collections.

Today, the primary collections of modernist glass are held by the National Museum of Slovenia and the Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO). The exhibition Art for Daily Life: Slovenian Modernist Glass is a part of the BIO 25 biennial (May 25- October 29) and will be on display until October 1.

M. K.
Translated by J. B.