Bertil Vallien
It is almost unbelievable , but in partnership with Kosta Boda , Bertil Vallien has been exploring and developing glass art for over 60 years . During this long era , in continuous dialogue and collaboration with the glassworks ’ master artisans , he has invented and refined his own artistic style in glass , taking it far beyond old traditions and techniques .
From the beginning , as he says himself , Bertil Vallien has been simultaneously fascinated by and grappling with the many incredible and seductive qualities of glass . He left the elegance of cut crystal behind early on . Through his revolutionary sand casts , he found his truth in a raw and poetic style . On his visionary journey to the melting point of glass , he and his employees have faced mighty challenges time and again .
Internationally , he has been called the Swedish rebel and the glass man . Early on , he participated in exhibitions around the world and already by the late 1960s , he had successes in Sydney and New York . Today , his glass is represented at museums and in collections on all continents . He has garnered particular praise in the US . In addition to regular exhibitions in New York , Seattle and Chicago , over time he has taught at the studios in Pilchuck and at universities around the country .
Still now at age eighty-six , Bertil is in the middle of his career . What he has created will continue to bring us joy , well into the future . But we also look forward with great curiosity to his daily work in the studio , where every morning , he gathers his thoughts and his team to tackle new challenges . Brains , Gatekeeper and House of Mystery are among his new established pieces .
Vallien has won several awards and prizes around the world . The Imagine Museum named him Artist of the Future , he received the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ’ medal for his work as a designer , and in 2002 he was awarded the Visionary Award from the Glass Art Society ( GAS ) - one of the finest awards a glass artist can receive .
For Kosta Boda , Vallien is of priceless importance – primarily for his own glass art , but also as a source of inspiration for other artists and designers .
For the past three decades , we have produced the Artist Collection series , which is imbued with extra gravity and sophistication . Bertil ’ s contributions are numerous , with Galaxy , Pearl and Spin among the most popular .
“ Glass has an unparalleled quality . No other material can fascinate , create optical effects , and inspire thoughts of stability and impermanence in quite the same way . After all these years , it ’ s still just as exciting to open the annealing oven and see that glowing , life-threatening lava transformed into ice .”
Learn more of this artist by scanning the QR code .
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