František Janák (born 1 June 1951) is a
Czech glass art
Glass art refers to individual works of art that are substantially or wholly made of glass. It ranges in size from monumental works and installation pieces to wall hangings and windows, to works of art made in studios and factories, including gl ...
ist. He creates glass sculptures and commission works, and also does series production design for different Czech glassworks.
Biography
Janák was born on 1 June 1951 in
Havlíčkův Brod,
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
.
He completed his apprenticeship in glass cutting at the Bohemia Glassworks, Czech's biggest producer of hand cut lead crystal. He followed with studies at the Secondary School of Glassmaking in
Kamenický Šenov. From 1971 to 1972 he was head master at the Bohemia Glassworks school, followed by three years as a glass cutter at the Co-op Výtvarná řemesla in
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
. From 1975 to 1981 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 glass designer at the Institute of Interior and Fashion Design – ÚBOK Prague. From 1989 to 1993 he was again a free-lance glass artist at his own studio, this time in Prague. From 1993 to 1995 he was a glass designer at the LINEA-ÚBOK in Prague.
From 1995 to 1997 Janák was a visiting professor at the Toyama Institute of Glass Art in Toyama (TIGA), Japan. In 1997, he returned to his studio in Prague. In 1998, he was appointed Professor at the Secondary School of Glassmaking in Kamenický Šenov. In 2000–01, he was visiting assistant professor at the
Rochester Institute of Technology,
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...
, United States.
Since 2003, Janák has been a professor at the Secondary School of Glassmaking in Kamenický Šenov and is leader of the school's section of glass cutting.

His art is included in museums throughout the world, including
Glasmuseet Ebeltoft, Denmark;
Ulster Museum,
Belfast
Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
; Finnish Glass Museum,
Riihimäki, Finland; Rippl Ronai Museum,
Kaposvár, Hungary; Museum of Modern Art,
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...
, Germany; the collection of the city Toyama, Japan; and
Museum of Glass,
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...
, United States.
His commissioned works include:
*Three stained glass windows, church in
Svatobořice-Mistřín, Czech Republic (1986).
*Stained glass windows and mobile fountain, Agrobank Pardubice, Czech Republic (1993).
*''Waterfall'' (glass object), Hotel Orfeus,
Poděbrady, Czech Republic (1995).
*''Messenger'' (glass object), Aubade hall, Toyama, Japan (1996).
Awards
*1981 - Rector prize at the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague
*1982 - Urkunde Jugend gestaltet in
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
, Germany
*1985 - Special prize at the Second Coburger glass prize in
Coburg
Coburg ( , ) is a Town#Germany, town located on the Itz (river), Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Ernestine duchies, Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only ...
, Germany
*1986 - First prize at the 4th Quadrennial in
Erfurt
Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...
, Germany
*1988 - Diploma at the exhibition of WCC-Europe in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
, Germany
*1995 - Pavel Hlava prize at the International Exhibition of Glass in
Kanazawa
is the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture in central Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was .
Etymology
The name "Kanazaw ...
, Japan
*2000 - Honorable mention at the exhibition Millennium glass in Mostly Glass, United States
Janák also received several prizes for industrial design in the Czech Republic.
References
External links
Biography and pictures of his works* http://www.czech-glass-school.com/ucitele/janak/janak.html
* http://www.prismcontemporary.com/Artists/JanakF/JanakF.html
{{DEFAULTSORT:Janak, Frantisek
1951 births
Living people
Czech artists
Glass artists
People from Havlíčkův Brod