Jan Exnar is a world-renowned glassmaker and painter. His glass works embody the unique qualities of this exceptional material while showcasing the full range of its expressive possibilities. Equally important to his oeuvre are his monumental drawings and paintings, rendered in vibrant colours. These works often serve as a creative foundation for his glass creations, though they also stand as independent artworks in their own right.

Across many of his works, the artist seeks the pure form – the very essence of beings and things – leading towards total abstraction. Jiří Bohdálek describes a certain “duality of his expression, moving between a subtle dreamlike gesture on the one hand, and a precise monument on the other.”

He studied at the Secondary School of Applied Arts for Glassmaking in Železný Brod and at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague under Professor Stanislav Libenský. He lives and works in Havlíčkův Brod with his wife, ceramicist Hana Exnarová.

In collaboration with architects, glassmakers and other artistic craftsmen, he has created a number of technically demanding artistic objects for public spaces. A particularly important group among these are his stained glass windows, such as those designed for the Church of St Martin in Třešť, the Church of St Adalbert in Havlíčkův Brod, and the Church of St Margaret in Loukov. 

He has regularly participated at glassmaking symposia in Škrdlovice, Nový Bor, and Pécs in Hungary. He is a member of the Mánes Association of Fine Artists and the Rubikon art group. He has presented his work at dozens of solo exhibitions at home and abroad, and has also participated in countless group exhibitions.

His work is to be found in the collections of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the Moravian Gallery in Brno, the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, the Horácká Gallery in Nové Město na Moravě, the Gallery and Museum of the Vysočina Region in Havlíčkův Brod, and in many other national and international collections.