Layers
Differently coloured glass layers are blown together to establish the palette of the object.
TRANSYLVANIAN ROOTS · ART NOUVEAU GLASS
Light
Colour
Glass
Flowers, landscapes and colours flowing into one another. In the cameo glass vases and bowls of Transylvanian glass artist Zoltán Ács, Art Nouveau becomes a personal world, shaped by hand.
Explore the works↗
ÁCS · CAMEO GLASSWorks ↓
01 / Works
Selected works
Five objects, five small worlds. Botanical motifs and quiet landscapes held within layers of coloured glass.
02 / The artist
From Transylvania,
to the world
Transylvanian glass artist Zoltán Ács continued the Art Nouveau tradition of cameo glass. Together with his wife and three children, he built a family workshop where craftsmanship met a love of the natural world.
In the early 1990s, he continued his work in Budapest. Through ÁCSV-BT, his pieces travelled to exhibitions from Japan to North America; in Budapest, they were presented at the Opál shop in the Castle District.
Budapest · Tokyo · Baltimore
Philadelphia · San Francisco
Philadelphia · San Francisco
03 / Technique
Colour lives beneath the surface
Within the glass itself. Layers of coloured glass and the careful removal of their surfaces work together to reveal each motif.
Motifs
Parts of the layers are removed to reveal flowers, foliage and landscapes.
Light
The thickness and overlap of the remaining layers create subtle transitions of colour and light.
The cameo-glass tradition associated with Gallé meets both Art Nouveau and more modern forms in Ács’s work.
A creative life
Studies in ceramics
The period biography records studies in applied arts.
A turn towards glass
He began working as a designer in the glass industry.
A Budapest workshop
The family continued their creative work in Hungary.
An international presence
The ÁCSV-BT years: exhibitions and presentations abroad.
04 / Legacy
The legacy of a family workshop
The knowledge of the family workshop lives on in Ács’s glass: carefully worked layers, motifs drawn from nature and individually conceived forms, brought together in harmony.
Following nature
The curves of flowers, the stillness of water and the silhouettes of mountains are more than decoration. Revealed within the layers of glass, they tell their stories through the form of each object.
EXPLORE FURTHER
Ács glass at auction
Works by Zoltán Ács also appear in Darabanth’s catalogue. Visit the auction house for current listings and the status of individual lots.
Explore Darabanth results↗External website · Availability changes. Name-based results may also include works by other authors.