The Party Vases collection, made by glassmaker and artist Dominika Petrtýlová, captures that moment when a couple is engaged in love play and the entire surrounding world melts away. “Two young people leaning on a sound- mix table were kissing without paying any heed to the crowd. The lights flickered, sporadically bathing them in light. I could feel them receding somewhere into their own spacetime, where the concert was just a distant backdrop.” Petrtýlová goes to parties with the intention of finding passionate couples, so that she can later hand-paint their kiss on one of her vases. Each one thus becomes a unique original, as well as an inspiring commentary on the richly decorated Rococo vases which often similarly depicted the amorous liaisons of contemporary aristocracy.

Dominika Petrtýlová (* 1993) graduated from the Glass Studio at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. She made her name on the scene as a conceptual glassmaker focusing on hand-painting on glass who mostly works with vases. She shifts the limits of the decorative item towards social commentary, as well as a tool of critique and documentation. She considers design to be an expressive means which goes beyond a merely utilitarian function, oftentimes adding artistic meaning. She enjoys combining glass with non-traditional materials, such as carbon, plastic or bronze. Apart from vases, she also designs lightings, art objects, installations and trophies.