Venice, at Palazzo Franchetti the contemporary glass of Bertil Vallien and Martin Janecký

On the occasion of the 61st International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, Palazzo Franchetti is hosting from May 5 to November 22, 2026, two solo exhibitions dedicated to Bertil Vallien and Martin Janecký, major figures in the international panorama of contemporary glass art. The two exhibition projects, organized by Fondazione Berengo and curated by Jean Blanchaert, bring to Venetian spaces the works of two artists who, while working on the same material, develop profoundly different languages and research.

The exhibitions, titled Transparent Boundaries for Bertil Vallien and Dreamers for Martin Janecký, build a comparison between distant but complementary approaches, highlighting the expressive possibilities of glass as a contemporary artistic medium. On the one hand the symbolic and narrative dimension of the Swedish artist, on the other hand the technical precision and psychological investigation of the Czech sculptor.

Bertil Vallien, born in Stockholm in 1938, is among the best known European artists who have worked on glass as an autonomous language of contemporary sculpture. His research is mainly related to the famous glass boats and enigmatic figures that populate his imagery, such as faces, masks and heads. Palazzo Franchetti presents precisely his boats made through the technique of casting in sand molds, a practice that has helped redefine the medium and distinctively characterizes his work.

Vallien’s boats are among the most recognizable images of his production. They are not simply decorative forms, but structures laden with symbolic and narrative references, thought of as universal metaphors for travel, memory and the human condition. The artist describes them as vessels that “traverse dreams and memories,” moving toward imaginary horizons and taking on an archetypal dimension suspended between life and death, myth and reality. In these works, glass becomes a container for images and stories, taking on an evocative function that transcends the material dimension of the object.

Vallien’s career developed from his studies at the University of Art and Design in Stockholm, followed by a period of training in the United States and Mexico. Since 1963 he has collaborated with the Kosta Boda manufacture, one of the most important in Swedish glass production. His works are part of the collections of international institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. In the course of his work he has received numerous awards, including the Gold Medal from the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences and the Visionary Award from the Museum of Arts and Design in New York.

Alongside Vallien’s visionary dimension, the exhibition dedicated to Martin Janecký presents research based on the direct relationship between technique and representation of the human body. Born in Liberec in 1980, Janecký approached glass at a very early age, working in his father’s furnace in the Czech Republic. After his studies in Nový Bor, he continued his training between Europe and the United States, deepening his practice at the Pilchuck Glass School, one of the international centers of reference for glass art.

It was in this context that he developed and perfected the technique of insidesculpting, now closely associated with his name. This is a complex procedure that involves shaping glass from the inside while the material is still glowing, through a highly controlled process that requires great technical precision. Janecký works directly on the material without resorting to molds, constructing faces, hands, bodies, and human figures of astonishing realism.

His sculptures are distinguished by a strong tension between fragility and formal control. The anatomical element becomes a tool for investigating the psychological dimension of the human being. The faces and gestures, often suspended in a condition of apparent immobility, suggest a reflection on interiority and vulnerability, transforming glass into a medium capable of restoring emotional complexity and physical presence. In addition to his artistic practice, Janecký carries out intensive teaching activities as a lecturer and guest artist at numerous international institutions. In 2019 he founded the Janecký Studio in Prague, further consolidating his role in the contemporary art glass scene.

In the rooms of Palazzo Franchetti, the two solo shows build a dialogue based on contrast: mysticism and rigor, opacity and transparency, symbolic narrative and formal investigation coexist in the same exhibition itinerary. The confrontation between Vallien and Janecký develops mainly on the way glass is interpreted as an expressive tool.

Venice, at Palazzo Franchetti the contemporary glass of Bertil Vallien and Martin Janecký

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