Click to view an interview with Michael Janis


Inspired by ways we transform ourselves, Michael Janis creates glass pieces that have both visual and spatial depth.  By layering and fusing sheets of glass with overlapping elements, Michael creates an interactive commentary using simple forms with intricate glass powder drawings.  Seamless construction and simplicity of form contrasts with the intricacy of his imagery.  Objects from his “Tarot” series are based on the symbols and forms used in Tarot playing cards. Traditional Tarot cards incorporate icons based on everyday life, religions, astrology and also numbers. The Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung, saw all of the Tarot symbols as "descended from the archetypes of transformation", and used the Tarot imagery in his therapy.

Michael’s kiln formed work takes scenes and suspends them within layers of fused, formed and cold worked sheet glass. Using crushed glass powder to create drawings, Michael plays on the elements of light, color and also sequence.  The glass powder is sifted onto glass sheets, and by scraping and scratching the sifted black glass dust he crafts his artwork. The glass panel is then fired in an electric kiln at temperatures up to 1600°F. This time consuming process facilitates drawn out contemplation of often overlooked imagery. 

Michael Janis is a Co-Director of the Washington Glass School and has taught at Penland School of Craft in North Carolina and at Istanbul’s Glass Furnace in Turkey. He first began working with glass as an architect in Australia, where his projects received international awards. His architectural discipline is evident his precise and detailed ‘sgraffito’ technique, where he manipulates glass dust to create incredibly detailed, almost photographic imagery within layers of fused glass.

Michael was named ‘Outstanding Emerging Artist 2008-2009’ by the Florida Glass Art Alliance. Michael was included in a book on the best of international glass art, ‘50 Distinguished Contemporary Artists in Glass’, published in the UK. His work is shown at international contemporary art expositions including SOFA Chicago, Wheaton Arts and Palm Beach 3.  Michael has held several solo exhibitions and is featured in this year’s Corning Glass Museum’s ‘New Glass Review 30’ publication, and his work is in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Michael is a finalist for this year’s Washington, DC Mayor’s Art Award.

Education
1983  B.A.  Architecture, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago IL

Selected Exhibitions
2008  Gallery Neptune, Bethesda, MD
          St Louis Craft Alliance, St Louis, MO
          3 International Glass Centers, Washington, DC
          Migration Gallery, Charlottesville, VA
          Smith Farm Center for the Arts, Washington, DC
          Palm Beach 3, West Palm Beach FL
2007  SOFA Chicago, Maurine Littleton Gallery, Chicago, IL
          Solo Show, Gallery Neptune, Bethesda, MD
          Glass Weekend 2007, Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center, Millville, NJ
          artDC International Art Fair, Washington, DC
          Solo Show, Red Door Gallery, Richmond, VA
          International Artist Exhibition Art Interview Magazine (Honorable Mention), Gallery 24 Berlin
2006  PhotoGenesis, Juried Show, MPA Emerson Gallery, McLean, VA
          Rebound, Juried Show, Caladan Gallery, Beverly, MA
          Shock & Awe, Warehouse Gallery, Washington, DC
          A Phenomenon of Nature, BlackRock Center for the Arts, Germantown, MD