Palo Macho : Med glasset som lerret

In this solo exhibition we´ll get to know the unique and distinctive glass paintings of the internationally renowned artist Palo Macho (b. 1965, Slovakia).

Palo Macho is one of the most original contemporary glass artists in Slovakia, known for his innovative approach to glass. His artistic expression and technique differs from the Slovak glass school where glass objects perfectly cut in to geometric shapes with optical qualities are central. As both a painter and a glassmaker he is expanding the limits of the two disciplines.

The paintings of Palo Macho differ in many ways from the traditional glass painting and two-dimensional paintings in general. Macho creates abstract and lyric paintings where he shapes and molds the surface as well as the inner layers of the glass. By mixing transparent and opaque glass and dividing the surface into matte and translucent areas he creates an interesting and vibrant expression which changes according to the light it is exposed to. His pictures or “picture objects” as some call them, are reversible and can be experienced from multiple angles. By assembling together several layers of painted and processed sheet glass he achieves depth and inner space in his work.

Despite the fact that most of his pictures do not have a recognizable narrative, some of his pictures may be perceived as particularly scenic – and thus give the spectator the opportunity to attribute their own stories. Since we are not given descriptive titles, we are left to trust our own aesthetic experience when interpreting the work.

Palo Macho began working with glass in 1980 at the Secondary School of Applied Arts of Glass in former Czechoslovakia where he studied until 1986. Beginning in 1989, he continued his studies in glass at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Slovakia, under Juraj Gavula, a glass artist noted for his contemporary mixed-media works. Macho also has a background in painting and design that has influenced his glass art. He studied painting and fine arts in 1993, at the École des Beaux Arts in St. Etienne, France. Today he works as an assist. Professor at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava. Macho has shown his work in various European countries, Japan and USA. This is his first solo exhibition in Norway.

12.08.16-11.09.16
Vernissage 12th of August at 7 pm