Jaroslav Ježek

Ježek, who preferred practice to study, first gained professional experience in the art department of the Thun porcelain factory in Klášterec nad Ohří, then in 1956 he obtained a position in the centre for the development of Karlovy Vary porcelain in Lesov near Karlovy Vary. A year before the World Exhibition in Brussels, he was approached and invited to design sets to represent Czechoslovak design on a global scale. Ježek designed the elegant, now famous, Elka moka service, which was a great success and won the highest prize, the Grand Prix. He received a Gold Medal in Brussels for his decorative porcelain sculptures Klisnička and hřebečkové. The Brussels success launched not only Ježek's career, but also the creation of dozens of other small figurative porcelain sculptures and forty other porcelain services. All of Ježek's designs bear the unique handwriting of their creator; his abstracted animal sculptures are characterised by their graceful curves, concise shapes, delicate elegance and subtle wit. They are characterized by simple expression and a high degree of abstraction of shape, but with a subtle accentuation of the animal's characteristic feature or detail. Hedgehog animal sculptures have become so popular that they can be seen as a symbol of 1960s interiors. Most of Ježek's figurines were taken over for production by the porcelain factory in Duchcov, where they are still produced today. Many of them are also offered in Modernist and the interest of customers proves that even after half a century they have not lost any of their charm. Barbora Kovářová