theglassapprentice | prosper riba villardell
exhibitions:
14-22 May 2022
on may 14th spazioarte presents handcrafted glass objects by theglassapprentice (prosper riba vilardell).
with a passion for colored glass, geometry, and the mastery and transformation of the primary sphericity of blown glass into other shapes and volumes, he designs objects from the profound to the playful, from the light to the beautiful and harmonious.
the glass apprentice is the label of blown glass young designer prósper riba vilardell. he dreamed of this label in the impressive bohemian woods when he was immersed in an intensive learning process. the project soon came true and it is from this label that he designs, makes and distributes his creations.
liquid glass or in a viscose state is the material pròsper uses to express his emotions, his life process and his vision of the cosmos. he is interested in color glass, geometry and in the command and transformation of the primary sphericity of blown glass in other shapes and volumes. his designs go from the profound to the amusing, from the lightweight to the beautiful and the harmonious. in him, the creative and playful mediterranean spirit and the technical discipline from the north of europe, specially from bohemia, unite.
the choice of the name of pròsper´s label is not arbitrary. the art of blown glass is an ancient technique and its learning has been considered, until recent years, to be an initiation process in which the apprentice belonged to the first grade and the master to the second.
with his choice of the name of his label, pròsper would like to express his being an apprentice and his wish to remain so, for experimentation and learning are the essence of his philosophy and his creativity.
biography
pròsper comes from a lineage of catalan artists who have been dedicated to sculpture, literatura, music and goldsmithery for generations. some of them have left their mark in their own generations. her mother, a theater director, gave him the name of the leading character of shakespeare's the tempest.
prósper went to the german school in barcelona and was trained as a designer in the escuela massana where he discovered the art of blown glass. he then started a learning journey through different schools and workshops in the united states (penland school of craft), belgium (provincial archeological museum), austria (glashütte comploj), switzerland (glassworks matteo gonet), france (jmw_studio and fluïd) and, above all, the glasfachschule zwiesel and in bild_werck (germany), cradle of glass contemporary art.
he has taken part in several collective exhibitions such as "gas student exhibition: a showcase of emerging international talent", morean arts center, st. petersburg, florida, usa and «glass under the open sky», eisch gallery,frauenau, germany.