* 1973

Rudolf Burda studied at the School of Applied Arts in Turnov (Czech Republic), majoring in artistic blacksmithing. From 1992 to 1993, Rudolf absolved an internship in California, USA. After his return, the Rudolf Burda Studio was established in the Czech Republic.

Nowadays, Rudolf primarily works with glass and designs stainless steel sculptures. His works are represented in various art collections in the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Holland, Great Britain, the United States of America, and the Middle East. From 2012, Rudolf participated in various exhibitions and art fairs in the Netherlands, UAE, Singapore, China, and USA.

In 2016, Rolls-Royce bought a whole collection of RR & RB, and the chairman of Leica Company contacted Rudolf and ordered a 5-meters-high commission for brand new Leica’s World in Wetzlar, Germany.

At the end of 2018, Rudolf Burda will participate in the most prestigious art events for emerging artists: The Jiangsu Art Fair and the Scope Miami Art Basel Miami, Art Bab 2018, Kingdom Of Bahrain, which will be followed by a personal large exhibition in the capital of Oman, Muscat.

Artist’s statement: “The greatest inspiration for me is the universe that is fulfilling my life’s credo of being the energy of the big bang, which has neither beginning nor ending. In my work, I’m following a minimalistic legacy and I am searching for the ideal and pure form. My aim is to contribute to the preservation of the old tradition of hand-blown glass together with developing and perfecting it.”

RUDOLF BURDA IN THE CONCEPTS OF QUANTUM PHYSICS

Describing the objects of Rudolf Burda is almost counterproductive. They attract all conceivable attention and are characterized by the famous statement that the artist describes in another form what we cannot express in words.

The interpretation of the work of some artists – and Rudolf Burda is one of them – defies the traditional art-historical vocabulary. If we want to use it according to established rules, we create an insufficient description or a poetic eulogy.

I found that the language of physics – specifically quantum theory – is much more suitable for identifying Burda’s artifacts. I was inspired by John Polkinghorne, a theorist who called himself a critical realist and dedicated himself to popularizing quantum physics.

Looking at the radiant, multi-layered glass eyes of Rudolf Burda, the parallel with the principle of superposition comes to mind. The spheres seem to combine several states of matter that we do not know in the real world. Similarly, polished stainless steel objects generate several optical illusions, whose “reality” is not a simple universe but an entire multiverse. In the environment of Burda’s objects, the viewer is confronted with a series of metaphysical questions related to the effort to understand what is actually happening to us as observers, in what elusive story of pure beauty on the edge of endurance we find ourselves. On the other hand, a certain austerity, minimalism, and the author’s discipline define intelligibility, which holds the key to the mentioned reality, a place in the world.

We perceive it in its Newtonian simplicity, but behind it, we sense a quantum world of Heisenbergian uncertainty. Rudolf Burda’s indescribable artifacts are found at this peculiar junction. They interact economically, not loquaciously, and thus become more attractive (like the randomness of tropical dawn).

Quantum theory, as well as art, teaches us that the world is full of surprises.

March 2023

Lenka Lindaurová