Damien François

Born in 1979 in Reims, Marne
Lives and works in Mont-Saxonnex, Haute-Savoie

Damien François' artistic work is built on the fact that he has never been confronted with the impossible. He discovered glass by chance during a trip to Norway in 2005.
With no prior training, he decided to stay in Scandinavia to observe the work of various master glassmakers, whom he assisted from 2006
to 2007.
He then joined the Danish Design School - Centre for Glass and Ceramics - in Bornholm, before completing his training by working between 2010 and 2015 in numerous workshops in Europe and the USA. 

Damien François focuses on the introspection of matter, exploring its physical properties and chemical reactions, both hot and cold, enabling him to master his delicate manufacturing technique. What drives him is to go with the material, to use its constraints rather than make it an obstacle. The shapes of the works in all his series are defined by the interplay of colors, the unveiling of matter, different textures, voids and reliefs....
His work, both graphic and pictorial, is remarkable for its sobriety and minimalism.

Public collections
Musée center d'art du verre, Carmaux, France
Museée del Vetro, Venise, Murano, Italy
American Glass Museum, Millville, N.J., USA
Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France

Awards
Honorable Mention, Emerging artist Glass Art Society, Seattle, US, 2014
Honorable Mention, International Competition TGK , Germany, 2013
Honorable Mention, International Competition TGK , Germany, 2012 Talente Prize, Munich, Germany, 2012
1st Graduation Prize, "The Danish National Bank Jubilee Foundation, 2010
Müllers Scholarship, Lawyer Henrik Storr-Hansen, Denmark, 2010 Lino Tagliepietra Scholarship, Pilchuck Glass School, US, 2009 Mullers Scholarship, Lawyer Henrik Storr-Hansen, Denmark, 2008