Simply the Best - SPAIN

Czech and Spanish glass design will be introduced to the Iberian Peninsula!

Together, our museum and the Real Fábrica de Cristales de La Granja prepared an exhibition of contemporary Czech and Spanish utility glass and design, which they called SIMPLY THE BEST. It will take place from May 23 to December 31 in Spain. Thanks to support from the National Renewal Plan, La Granja will also host a creative meeting of Czech and Spanish glass masters and designers.

The Czech Republic and Spain are connected by centuries of glassmaking history. In the 18th century, the Spanish cities of Cádiz and Seville were even among the world centers of Czech crystal trade. Glass craftsmen also came from Bohemia to the "Empire on which the sun never set". Currently, the Museum of Glass and Jewelery in Jablonec nad Nisou and the Real Fábrica de Cristales de La Granja have been working together for many years.

"Since 2017, La Granja has presented four traveling exhibitions prepared by the Jablonec museum for Czech centers. This time, however, a truly joint project was created, when the curators of both institutions, Paloma Pastor Rey de Viñas and Petr Nový, selected the best from the varied offer of contemporary Czech and Spanish utility, decorative and luxury glass," said Milada Valečková, director of the Jablonec Museum.

"Because both institutions actively participated in the successful registration of handmade glass production in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (2023), the Spanish side selected the handmade products of the country's two oldest glass factories for the exhibition," added Paloma Pastor Rey de Viñas. The Czech choice relied on products awarded by the international committee and partners as part of the TRENDY exhibition. DESIGN. PRODUCTION of the International Triennial of Glass and Jewelery JABLONEC 2023, supplemented by the selection of the curator. In total, there are 28 companies and brands dedicated to both manual, machine and automatic glass production.

Czech creatives from the exhibiting companies as well as glass craftsmen and artists will also visit Spain for the opening of the exhibition, many of whom will use the opportunity to demonstrate their art here. The Real Fábrica de Cristales de La Granja is not only a museum, but also a glass school and a functioning glass studio with the necessary production facilities. They will thus meet Spanish colleagues, with whom they will not only exchange experiences, but also discuss together the current state of glass production.