“ Blue has a continuous presence in my work and my design ,” says Erika . “ Orange and red are the sun , of course . The colors are inspired by the ocean throughout the day .”
Erika Lagerbielke
Erika Lagerbielke was born and raised in the same Stockholm , in a family with artistic heritage . Her mother was a textile designer , and Dean of Konstfack ( University of Art , Crafts and Design , Stockholm , Sweden ), her father a graphic designer .
Erika tried glassblowing during her studies but decided to leave the craft to the craftsmen and focus on design . Her sensitive , elegant style and natural feeling for glass and color made Orrefors recruit her as a designer while still in school , in 1982 .
” The eighties are the eighties and it was very colorful ”, says Erika Lagerbielke . “ I was recruited for my sense of color , just twenty-two years old . I was young and cocky , but also humble and insecure . It was an exciting time — to be part of a movement when design conquered a new position . Orrefors was part of this wave , with strong Gallery collections and glamorous openings in the NK department store in Stockholm , for which customers queued up . It was a fantastic start .”
Erika Lagerbielke has held acclaimed exhibitions of both her utility and art glass in Sweden and around the world over the years . Her designs are multi-awardwinning , and she has garnered particular praise for her approach to combining clear and colored glass . She is famous for her work with the meeting of wine and glass , which she explored in depth . Her
breakthrough collection , Intermezzo from the mid- 80s , with its encased drop of blue glass , is generally recognized as an innovation and a milestone in glass design .
In 2021 , Erika Lagerbielke made a grand comeback in art glass with her exhibition En Blå Planet ( Blue Planet ) in Galleri Glas in Stockholm , a great success . The new series , which Lagerbielke has elaborated for the show in Kosta , builds on her lifelong love of the sea . “ Water and glass are closely related . Glass is an under-cooled liquid . I ’ ve always loved the sea and reflected over oceans as a jeopardized , vital resource . People have really responded to the exhibition . Some said it made them happy , others that it reinforced their climate anxiety . It ’ s been very emotional , as art should be .”
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