Martin Janecký

Martin Janecký (1980) has established himself as an exceptional glass sculptor in both the Czech and international contexts. He is renowned particularly for the technique of inside sculpting (the technique of shaping a hot glass bubble from within), which he mastered through studying with leading glass artists around the world. Thanks to his technical precision, he is able to achieve unusual expressiveness and anatomical accuracy, including all the individual traces that make each face unique.

In his work, technical virtuosity meets a deep engagement with the figurative tradition. The central motif of his practice is the human head and bust, in which one can recognize references to ancient cultures, Baroque and Classicist portraiture, as well as early modern sculpture. Janecký works with historical visual archetypes, transforming them into contemporary iconic figures – Starmen, Thinkers, Dreamers – through which he examines introspection, existential tension, and universal questions of human existence.

Janecký was born in the Czech Republic, studied at the Pilchuck Glass School in the United States, and after his studies taught at art and craft schools in the USA, Mexico, South Africa, and Australia. In 2020, he founded his own glass studio in Prague’s Malá Strana district.