Janusz Walentynowicz

In 1960, when he was 4 years old, his parents fled the Polish People’s Republic and moved to Denmark. He became interested in art in the last years of elementary school and started his artistic career as an autodidact, creating stoneware sculptures. He graduated from the School of Decorative Arts (Skolen For Brugskunst – which later became a part of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts), Copenhagen, Denmark, and received the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree equivalent, 1982. Since his studies in Copenhagen, glass has been his preferred material. After receiving several grants in 1982, he moved to the USA and continued studies in the MFA programme at the Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA, 1982–1992 (opted not to hold a degree). He’s been running his own glass art studio since 1992, in Bloomington, IL. In 2004 worked as an instructor at the Pilchuck Glass School, Seattle, WA, USA.

He has received numerous awards and grants, including: the Silver Medal in the glass category in the Danish Craft Award of 1879 (Kunsthåndværkerprisen af 1879), awarded by the Queen, Denmark, 1982; Danmarks Nationalbanks Jubilæumsfond Af 1968, Denmark, 1982, 1983, 1984; the Marshall Dulaney Pitcher Art Award, the Illinois State University, Normal, 1985; the Virginia A. Groot Foundation Grant, USA, 1996; Habatat Galleries awards, USA, 2004, 2016.

He participated in about 50 individual and about 90 group exhibitions – in the USA, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, and Taiwan, including: the Heller Gallery, New York, NY, USA, 2000; Habatat Galleries, Boca Raton, FL, USA, 2006; Glasmuseet Ebeltoft, Ebeltoft, Denmark, 2007 – individual exhibitions; Den Permanente, Copenhagen, 1982; Anna and Joe Mendel Collection, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Canada, 2008; Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung, Munich, Germany, 2009 – group exhibitions.

His works are presented in many significant public collections, including: Her Majesty The Queen’s Collection, Copenhagen; Glasmuseet Ebeltoft, Ebeltoft; the Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY, USA; the Museum of Arts and Design, New York; the Hsinchu Municipal Cultural Centre, Hsinchu, Taiwan; Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung, Munich; the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal; de Young – the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, CA, USA. His works are also present in many private collections.

The interest of Janusz Walentynowicz has always been focused on the intimate human relations. Glass, as a fragile and transparent material, lets him to reflect the strongest aspects of his concerns.