Damien François

b. 1979, Reims, France
Lives and works in Mont-Saxonnex, Haute-Savoie, France

Damien François’ artistic journey is rooted in what he describes as the good fortune of never having faced the impossible. He happened upon the world of glass on a trip to Norway in 2005. With no prior training, he made the life-changing decision to stay in Scandinavia and study the work of various master glassblowers from 2006 to 2007. This inspired him to enrol in the Royal Danish Academy Glass and Ceramics programme on the island of Bornholm. After graduating, he went on to work at a number of studios in Europe and the United States between 2010 and 2015. 

Damien François uses glass to focus on introspection, exploring its physical properties and chemical reactions through an array of hot and cold techniques—a voyage of discovery that has helped him master the delicate art of glassmaking. He is driven by a desire be one with the material and harness its constraints rather than seeing them as hurdles. Each of his series embodies a subtle interplay of colours, revelations, textures, spaces and reliefs. His work is both graphical and pictorial, and stands out through its simplicity and minimalism.

Public Collections 
Musée Centre d’Art du Verre, Carmaux, France
Museo del Vetro, Venice, Murano, Italy
Museum of American Glass, Millville, New Jersey, USA
Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France 

Awards & Honours 
Honourable Mention, Emerging Artist, Glass Art Society, Seattle, USA, 2014
Honourable Mention, TGK International Competition, Germany, 2013
Honourable Mention, TGK International Competition, 2012 
Talente 1st Prize, Munich, Germany, 2012
Danmarks Nationalbank’s Anniversary Foundation Award, 2010
Müllers scholarship, Henrik Storr-Hansen Law, Denmark, 2010