Janusz Walentynowicz (1956) is an internationally acclaimed Danish/Polish glass artist and sculptor who grew up in Skagen but has spent 40 years in the USA, where he has significantly developed his artistic career. Despite his long stay in the USA, the artist maintains a strong connection to Denmark and draws inspiration from childhood experiences and adult life in his works. He has developed a unique expression using glass, oil painting, and other materials, creating works that explore relationships between people and individual identity.

Walentynowicz was introduced to art at an early age by sculptor Niels Helledie. Helledie acted as a mentor to Walentynowicz, and his influence had a significant impact on the Danish/Polish artist's development. Although Walentynowicz initially pursued ceramics, he felt he couldn't find the right expression for what he wanted to convey through his work. It wasn't until later, at the School of Applied Arts in Copenhagen, where he met Finn Lynggaard, the founder of the glass museum in Ebeltoft, and other glass artists, that he found his artistic calling in glass art. Lynggaard introduced Walentynowicz to the American glass artist Joel Philip Myers, who was the head of the glass department at Illinois State University - a meeting that led Walentynowicz to travel to Illinois and pursue life as a recognized glass artist with exhibitions in museums and galleries in both Denmark and the USA.