Czech gl* artist

František Janák (born 1951 in Havlíčkův Brod, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech gl* artist. He creates gl* sculptures and commission works, and also does series production design for different Czech gl*works.

Janák completed his apprenticeship in gl* cutting at the Bohemia Gl*works, Czech's biggest producer of hand cut lead crystal. He followed with studies at the Secondary School of Gl*making in Kamenický Šenov, the oldest gl* school in the world (founded 1856). From 1971-72 he was head master at the Bohemia Gl*works school, followed by three years as a gl* cutter at the Co-op Výtvarná řemesla in Prague. From 1975-81 Janák studied at the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague under Prof. Stanislav Libenský.

In 1981, Janák opened his own studio in Dolní Město. From 1985 to 1988 he was a gl* designer at the Ins*ute of Interior and Fashion Design - ÚBOK Prague. From 1989 to 1993 he was again a free-lance gl* artist at his own studio, this time in Prague. From 1993-95 he was a gl* designer at the LINEA-ÚBOK in Prague.

From 1995 to 1997 Janák was a visiting professor at the Toyama Ins*ute of Gl* Art in Toyama (TIGA), *an. In 1997, he returned to his studio in Prague. In 1998, he was appointed Professor at the Secondary School of Gl*making in Kamenický Šenov. In 2000-01, he was visiting *istant professor at the Rochester Ins*ute of Technology, Rochester, New York, United States.

Since 2003, Janák has been a professor at the Secondary School of Gl*making in Kamenický Šenov and is leader of the school's section of gl* cutting.

Examples of work in the Moser gl* factory - Karlovy Vary

His art is included in museums throughout the world, including Glasmuseet Ebeltoft, Denmark; Ulster Museum, Belfast, Northern Ireland; Finnish Gl* Museum, Riihimäki, Finland; Rippl Ronai Museum. Káposvár, Hungary; Museum of Modern Art, Düsseldorf, Germany; the collection of the city Toyama, *an; and Museum of Gl*, Tacoma, Washington, USA.

His commissioned works include:

• Three stained gl* windows, church in Svatobořice – Mistřín, Czech Republic (1986).
• Stained gl* windows and mobile fountain, Agrobank Pardubice, Czech Republic (1993).
• Waterfall (gl* object), Hotel Orfeus, Poděbrady, Czech Republic (1995).
• Messenger (gl* object), Aubade hall, Toyama, *an (1996).

Awards

• 1981 - Rector prize at the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague.
• 1982 - Urkunde Jugend gestaltet in Munich, Germany.
• 1985 - Special prize at the Second Coburger gl* prize in Coburg, Germany.
• 1986 - First prize at the 4th Quadrennial in Erfurt, Germany.
• 1988 - Diploma at the exhibition of WCC-Europe in Stuttgart, Germany.
• 1995 - Pavel Hlava prize at the International Exhibition of Gl* in Kanazawa, *an.
• 2000 - Honorable mention at the exhibition Millennium gl* in Mostly Gl*, USA.

Janák also received several prizes for industrial design in the Czech Republic.

References

External links

• Biography and pictures of his works
• http://www.czech-gl*-school.com/ucitele/janak/janak.html
• http://www.prismcontemporary.com/Artists/JanakF/JanakF.html