EXPO 2025

The Czech National Pavilion 
Osaka, Japan

13 April – 13 October 2025

This collection of glass objects, created for the Czech Pavilion at EXPO 2025 in Osaka, symbolises the journey of life – a path where wisdom, combined with humility, shows the way. At every step, we experience the joy of beauty while also recognising its fleeting nature. Here, pain and hardship are not suffering but an awakening to the true values that endure.

The first stop on this metaphorical journey is the outdoor glass installation Trees Grow from the Sky, originally presented at the Venice Biennale. Three monolithic crystal trees imprinted with the real texture of oak bark serve as symbols of faith – faith in something eternal and greater than ourselves. This bark imprint, reminiscent of animal skin, extends onto large-format glass panels titled Imprimere, highlighting the interconnectedness of the animal and plant worlds, two realms essential for survival.

Three crystal chandeliers descend from the ceiling, inspired by the Japanese concept of mono no aware, representing the simultaneous beauty and transience of life. One branch bursts into bloom with sakura flowers on digital displays, another preserves them in frozen stillness, while the third stands a silent witness to time’s passage, inviting contemplation on the ever-changing beauty of the seasons. The exhibition is completed by five suspended Uranium Roses – delicate roses crafted from uranium glass. Representing both love and pain, joy and disappointment, the rose reflects the eternal cycle of beauty: its birth, bloom, inevitable fading, and ultimate disappearance.