Dans la seconde moitié du XXe siècle émerge une nouvelle discipline artistique : la sculpture de verre. Axée principalement sur les qualités plastiques du matériau, elle favorise alors la création d’œuvres de plus grandes tailles et le développement d’une expression plus symbolique.
Initially, this practice developed in Eastern Europe, particularly in Czechoslovakia, within technical glass schools and state-owned glassworks that employed designers responsible for creating object models. Taking advantage of the infrastructure available in these establishments, several artists simultaneously developed a sculptural practice, among them, from the late 1950s, the couple Libensky-Brychtova.
Starting in the 1970s, the opening of small personal glass workshops, whose concept spread throughout the West, as well as the organization of a network of galleries, training centers, and international events where artists meet (exhibitions, symposiums), also contributed to the international development of this new artistic discipline.
In France, glass sculpture has been developing mainly since the 1980s. Despite the wall that divided Europe, a few artists from the East, such as Zoritchak, Négreanu, and Zbynovsky, brought their sculptural practices with them. Other glassmakers, who were already using glassblowing techniques (Monod, Umbdenstock) or pâte de verre (Leperlier, Martinez), as well as ceramists (Dejonghe, Delsol), also developed a sculptural approach during this period.