The exhibition Before the Stone Blooms brings together the work of Anna Polanská and Pavla Vachunová, two artists whose paths converge in an intuitive relationship to material, craftsmanship, and landscape. A landscape both real and inner, preserved in memories, experiences, and images from childhood.

The work of Anna Polanská has long focused on the human figure set within a landscape that grows out of both real memories and dreamlike visions. In her objects, reliefs, and vases, she works primarily with blown, cast, and fused glass, gradually revealing its final form through grinding and engraving. Her process is intuitive: compositions emerge directly from the material itself, starting from loose sketches. She repeatedly re-grinds and re-engraves the objects until the lines, surfaces, and shapes coalesce into an image capable of conveying a feeling, a memory, or a quiet thought.

For Pavla Vachunová, clay has become her primary medium. This material, which is initially soft and malleable and takes on its final form through the action of fire, allows her to capture initial ideas as well as inner experiences. In her work with it, all the elements—earth, water, fire, and air—symbolically converge. From her ceramic and porcelain creations, her work naturally extends to drawing, painting, photography, video, and sculpture.

After years of working independently, both artists have discovered that their themes return to a similar source: personal experience with the landscape and with people as its inseparable parts. They are united by friendship, an intuitive approach to creation, a willingness to experiment, and a firm grounding in craftsmanship, patience, and a sculptural approach to form. At the same time, each remains true to her own material world. Flowers bloom on Pavla Vachunová’s porcelain vases; their stems, leaves, and blossoms emerge in the delicate textures of the surface. Similarly, engraved lines and organic motifs appear in Anna Polanská’s glasswork.

In these newly created collaborative pieces, glass and porcelain coexist as two equal voices. They neither compete with nor overlap one another. They complement each other, interpenetrate, and create a shared space where two artistic paths converge—two experiences of landscape, material, and memory. Before the Stone Blooms is their quiet dialogue.

Architectural design: Radka Vyplašilová, Max Berdych
Visuals: Bohouš Pospíšil (photo), Matúš Buranovský (graphic design)
Collaboration: Marcela Straková, Tereza Pinkasová
Project partners: XXX
Acknowledgments: Jakub Berdych Karpelis