Václav HANUŠ

Václav Hanuš ranks among the prominent figures of 20th-century Czechoslovak glass design. He showed exceptional talent and a refined sense for material already during his studies. From 1939 to 1943, he studied at the Vocational School of Jewelry in Turnov, in the gem engraving department under the guidance of Karel Tuček. During the war, from 1943 to 1945, he worked as a glass cutter at the Bouček company in Malá Skála.

After the war, he continued his education at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, where he studied from 1945 to 1949 in the studio of Professor Karel Štipl. During his studies, he also completed an internship at the national enterprise Sklárny Inwald, specifically at the Rudolfova glassworks in Dubí near Teplice, where he designed pressed glass for the first time.

After graduating, he served as Professor Štipl’s assistant and later became an art aspirant at the same school. In 1955, he began working at the Technical and Artistic Center for Pressed Glass at the Sklárny Inwald national enterprise in Teplice, where he deepened his expertise in industrial glass production technologies.

From 1957, he worked as a designer at the foreign trade company Skloexport, where he served for over 40 years as the chief designer. During this time, he collaborated with several glassworks—including those in Heřmanova Huť, Rosice, the Slovak town of Nemšová, and especially with the Jablonec Glassworks. From 1959 to 1960 he worked with them externally, and from 1961 to 1985, he was their in-house designer.

In his work, Hanuš placed particular emphasis on functionality. He considered decorative elements secondary, but his approach was far from conservative. On the contrary, he consistently pursued innovation and new technological methods. His creations were marked by technical precision and stood at the intersection between pressed and hand-blown glass.

Through his lifelong work, Václav Hanuš made a significant contribution to the development of the Czechoslovak glass industry, and his designs remain synonymous with high-quality and functional glassware to this day.