Ján Zoričák is one of the most significant glass artists in Slovakia and France. He is also one of those exceptional art personalities of Slovak origin who has gained international recognition. He works in the difficult sector of glass design, which requires artistic vision and ability as well as the capacity to master the demanding technological processes and to discover unconventional methods of working with glass.
His material of choice is optic glass which entails work with space and light refraction. Zoričák perceives the space in its universal infinity and searches for possibilities of expressing it in a glass sculpture. He creates a microcosm within the sculpture, which is a probe into the cosmic macrocosm.
His glass objects can be considered cosmic voyages in search of the mysteries of the essence of the world. He thematizes his works which express an idea in several cycles. His cycles entitled the Messengers from Universe, Fleurs polaires, Planets, Asteroids, Jardin d’Espace, Energies, Exoplanets, Spectro-cycles are famous. Each cycle is specific in its concept. His research covers astronomy, physics and biology. The cycle Energies, which artistically transforms his research of particles at CERN is a good example. He achieves the magical expression of glass sculpture by incorporating paint and gold, silver and copper sheets and dust in the glass. He is truly a master of this technique. The exhibition entitled Fatamorgána / Fata Morgana presents a new perspective of the relation among various forms of illusions, mirages, fictions and their variability, as the glass sculptures conjure us.
Eva Trojanová
Ján Zoričák was born in 1944 in Ždiar, Slovakia. From 1959 to 1963 he studied at the Secondary Vocational School of Glass at Železný Brod, Czech Republic and from 1963 to 1969 at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (under prof. Stanislav Libenský). He designs and creates glass sculptures and photography. Since 1970 he has lived and worked in Talloires, France. In over fifty years of artistic creation, his work has had an essential impact on European glass design and creation. The list of his international exhibitions is long, and his works can be found in renowned world museums and collections, including Musée du verre Liège, Belgium; Musée des Arts Décoratifs Lausanne, Switzerland; Paris, France; Yokohama Museum of Modern Art, Japan; Musée du Verre Charleroi, Belgium; Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, Germany; and others. His awards and honors include the Exempla Munich Bronze Medal, Germany (1972); the Grand Prix of the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Sapporo, Japan (1985); the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Paris, France (1987); the Gold Medal, Kanazawa, Japan (1990); 1st class Pribina Cross, Slovakia (2013); and the Imro Weiner-Kráľ Award, Slovakia (2014).
