Josef Marek

“My work transforms the ancient alchemy of glass into meditations on light, space, and endurance.

Rooted in the Czech glassmaking tradition of Kamenický Šenov and refined through studies at Prague’s Academy of Applied Arts, Alfred University, and Japan’s Toyama Institute of Glass Art, I create sculptures that distill geometric purity into dynamic illusions.

Inspired by the stoic boulders of Bohemia’s hills—embodied in my seminal work Man Rock—my pieces explore the tension between form and void, using cast glass, precise cutting, and rare techniques like glue-chipping and tarnishing to capture light’s eternal dance. Each sculpture, from intimate prisms to towering monoliths, invites viewers to pause and uncover hidden dimensions, where transparency becomes a portal to the infinite.

At ARTe Dortmund, I present smaller works, crafted with the same rigor as my larger pieces, engineered for secure global transit with my full responsibility for crating and insurance. Forged in the fires of the Velvet Revolution and a lifetime of defying material limits, my glass speaks to resilience and revelation, offering collectors a tactile connection to the timeless.”