Jana Büttner

Jana Büttner (b. Austria, 1997) is a German-Czech Sculptor currently attending The Florence Academy of Art, Italy.

Jana began her studies of Fine Art as a child at the Musisches Gymnasium, Salzburg in 2008. Aged 14, she transferred to the HTL Hallein School of Practical Arts to pursue her passion for sculpting. The emphasis of the school is to teach students to hone their skills in a variety of mediums. There Jana learned to carve in marble and wood, work with metal and model in clay. She graduated from HTL Hallein School as a sculptor in 2016.

In the summer of 2015, Jana worked in the Gallery Schloss Wiespach, Hallein. There, artists from all over the world are granted studio spaces to work in for one month. Jana found herself working with prominent sculptors like Gregoz Gwiazda, Debasish Bera and

Eudald de Juana Gorriz. Jana assisted de Juana Gorriz, an instructor at The Florence Academy of Art, in casting his figurative work. The Florence Academy of Art is the only school in the world which provides a three year intense sculpting program focusing on the human figure in clay. Working with Juana Gorriz confirmed Jana’s love of working with clay to render the figure and encouraged her to apply to The Florence Academy of Art where she has been a student since 2017.

Her goals are to provoke emotions and encourage empathy in the viewer. The viewer should be engaged by the work, so s/he can identify themselves within it. The three-dimensionality and the space that sculptures occupy can create a natural presence. This has the potential to allow for an emotional connection with the viewer. Figurative works in particular can speak to us precisely because we can recognize ourselves. That is why she likes to work with live models: each viewer can find themselves to a degree in her work.