Michael Janis is an American artist currently residing in Washington, DC where he is one of the directors of the Washington Glass School. He is known for his work on glass using the exceptionally difficult sgraffito technique on glass. Janis was a 2012 Fulbright scholar and as such he taught at the University of Sunderland in England, where he also taught at the UK's National Glass Centre, and also became an artist-in-residence at the Institute for International Research in Glass. The James Renwick Alliance named him Distinguished Glass Artist for 2014, and subsequently Janis presented a talk about his work at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. In 2016, Janis was nominated and won the Washington, DC Mayor's Arts Award for Excellence in the Arts. He has also received seven separate District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities' Artist Fellowship awards, most recently in 2020.
Early life and education
Michael Janis was born in Chicago on October 11, 1959, the youngest son of Paul and Alicia Janis. His mother is of Filipino, Chinese and Spanish ancestry, and his father is of German and Greek descent. Janis’ family moved soon after to suburban Niles, Illinois. He attended Maine East High School in Park Ridge, Illinois. After a 20-year career as an architect in the United States and Australia, Janis returned to the US in 2003 with a focus on working with glass. In 2005, he became a co-director of the Washington Glass School.
Critical reception and awards
Florida Art Glass Alliance’s Emerging Artist Award in 2009.
The James Renwick Alliance, in the awarding the 2014 Distinguished Glass Artist award, and in reference to Janis' sgrafitto technique, wrote that "his mastery of this difficult technique shows itself in the dreamlike images which he creates by 'drawing' with frit powders upon glass..."
In a review of a Janis solo show in 2016, The Washington Post called his work and use of sgraffito technique "extraordinary."
That same show was described by American art critic Dr. Claudia Rousseau as being "from both a technical and subjective viewpoint this is a striking show."
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette postulated about his work having a "Janus quality that suggests the conflict between one’s public face and internal being."
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review added in 2015 that Janis "creates glass pieces with visual and spatial depth that are 'inspired by ways we transform ourselves'..."
In describing the 2016 Mayor's Arts Awards for Excellence in the Art, Washington, DC mayor Muriel Browser noted the "incredible contributions of these individuals and organizations to the arts community in the District."
In both a 2017 magazine article and associated television show on Maryland Public Television, American art critic Shawn Waggoner described Janis as a "translator of the subconscious... creates intricate glass powder drawings that ask questions rather than answer them."
In 2018 Prince George’s Arts & Humanities Council awarded Janis an Artist Fellowship.
2019 Maryland’s Goucher College series on Contemporary Glass Art described him as “one of the finest glass artists working in the field today”.
Public art / commissioned artworks
2003 Lobby Sculpture, 1301 K Street Building, Washington, DC
2004 Outdoor Park Sculpture and Site Artworks, The Residences of Rosedale, Bethesda, MD
