„I don’t go around hugging trees to find something out. I don’t find inspiration in the nature like many others do. I have a topic and I work on it.“
Martin Janecký (*1980) is an internationally renowned glass artist with a mastery of hot glass techniques. In the Czech artistic environment he stands out as a new type of solitary talent. His artistic potential is linked not only to his absolute concentration on his work, but also to his personal experiences and the transformations the Czech Republic has undergone over the last three decades.
A graduate of the glass school in Nový Bor, Martin has spent extensive time abroad, gaining experience in South Africa, Sweden, the Netherlands, and especially in the United States, where he studied at the Pilchuck Glass School under the tutelage of renowned artists Richard Royal and William Morris. Here he perfected the masterful technique of hot glass shaping using the method of “inside sculpting” (shaping a flask of glass from the inside). His unique sculptures, depicting the realistic qualities of human heads, animals, figures, skulls and signs, are created without the use of moulds, directly at the hot glass kiln.
Martin Janecký quickly became a sought-after teacher-lecturer and guest lecturer at prestigious glass programs around the world. His works are part of national and private glass collections at home and abroad, and are exhibited in renowned galleries and museums. In 2019, he founded his own glassworks – Janecký Studio in Prague’s Kampa district.
Inteview: Glassmaker Martin Janecký: I´m no tree-hugger, I work instead