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Vases
The main objective of the project is the systematic support of Czech design, while also enhancing the Artium public space for both employees and visitors engaged in the local cultural scene.
Each month, a single original object—a designer vase—will be presented, selected with an emphasis on originality, craftsmanship, and the ability to stand as a distinctive piece within the space. The curatorial selection is led by Designblok Director Jana Zielinski and journalist and Designblok Advisory Board member Andrea Běhounková.
Every first Wednesday of the month, a new installation will emerge—a dialogue between the object and living material, between design and nature. Each installation will be continuously documented by photographer Eda Babák, recipient of the Czech Grand Design 2025 award in the Discovery of the Year category. Czech Grand Design award holders also include DECHEM studio and Zdeněk Vacek, both recognized in the main Grand Designer category.
The Vases project will gradually present a broad spectrum of creators—from emerging designers to established figures of the Czech scene—and will explore the vase as an object that transcends its function, entering space as an autonomous form.
DECHEM │Burned Landscape
The project opens with a vase from the Burned Landscape collection by DECHEM studio, founded in 2012 by Michaela Tomišková and Jakub Janďourek. Their work is rooted in a deep understanding of the Czech glassmaking tradition and the continuity of its technological and formal principles, which they systematically reinterpret within contemporary design. A defining aspect of their practice is the close connection between design and production—they work with traditional hand-blown glass techniques not merely as a reference, but as an active creative tool.
The Bandaska vase, first presented at Designblok in 2014, emerged from the designers’ desire to engage with the archetypal form of the traditional milk can. It immediately attracted attention and has since become one of the studio’s most successful products. The designers have continued to develop the object, particularly through color variations, and have produced several limited editions over the years. The latest addition is the Burned Landscape vase, introduced last autumn. What began as an experimental drawing with molten glass on paper evolved into a three-dimensional interpretation, transforming the now-iconic Bandaska into a more expressive form. Each piece in this edition is unique, carrying its own “landscape,” described by the designers as a panoramic trace of fire, air, and human gesture.
The method of installation also plays a key role in the Vases project. The floral compositions are not created by florists but, for example, by jeweler Zdeněk Vacek, who approaches them from a distinct disciplinary perspective. He perceives the flower as a jewel adorning the vase—an ephemeral yet meaning-bearing layer. He has long explored this medium alongside his authorial jewelry practice. Under his own brand, he creates objects on the boundary between jewelry and artifact, combining organic materials with metal while developing both a distinctive creative language and refined craftsmanship. Last year, Zdeněk Vacek celebrated twenty-five years of his work with the exhibition DARK’n’LUSH at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, where he presented his shift from jewelry toward free objects and site-specific installations.
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