The Glass Universe of Jan Exnar - AD ASTRA!

One of the stars in the Czech glass universe is coming to exhibit considerable pieces made of mould-melted glass, paintings, graphic art, and, for the first time, new melted drawings, all at the Museum of Glass and Jewellery in Jablonec.  

 Artist and designer Jan Exnar (born 1951) is a graduate of the Department of Glassmaking at the Secondary School of Applied Arts in Železný Brod and the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague, where he attended the glass studio run by Prof. Stanislav Libenský. He has been working as an independent artist since 1976, is a member of Rubikon, a group of original artists, and until 2008 worked as a freelance designer for the Beránek glassworks in Škrdlovice. Since the 1970s, his broad artistic portfolio has also included projects in public spaces, including stained-glass windows. Over four decades, he has exhibited at dozens of his own and collective exhibitions at home and abroad, and his works have become part of a great many prestigious public and private collections in Europe and overseas.

 For the exhibition in Jablonec, Exnar and curator Petr Nový from the Museum of Glass and Jewellery carefully selected a set of artefacts, canvases, and drawings from his works that actively communicate with the space of an atypical museum annexe. Also included is something new, never before shown at an exhibition: opaxite melted drawings, which the artist himself refers to as liquegraphy, representing his onward artistic position and his continual desire to experiment and develop. "Jan Exnar is also a great glass maker, melting his works himself at his studio in the Vyšočina region. He understands glass and is able to use this knowledge very well artistically," adds Nový.

 Exnar's fundamental inspiration is the universe. His works can be compared to studies of emerging and disappearing planets, eternal souls, and guardians of the universe. He is a substantial constructor. His universe is not a chaotic jumble of amoebas, but a planetary system in which he patiently develops his own aesthetics. His works complement each other, communicate with each other, literally orbit each other. "Given that Jan Exnar now concentrates mostly on the process of artistic creation itself and does not exhibit much anymore, we are delighted he decided to accept our offer. Our aim is to write a diverse exhibition script, an important part of which is to celebrate the work of Czech artists of considerable international renown, with Exnar undoubtedly one such artist," says Museum Director Milada Valečková about the exhibition.

 The JAN EXNAR – AD ASTRA exhibition at the Museum of Glass and Jewellery in Jablonec nad Nisou will run until 26 April 2026.

Watch the video from the opening of the exhibition : AD Astra - Skleněný vesmír Jana Exnara / The Glass Universe of Jan Exnar

Partners of Museum: Ministerstvo kultury České republiky, Liberecký kraj, statutární město Jablonec nad Nisou, Nadace Preciosa, Crystal Valley, RTM Plus, Český rozhlas Liberec