Bertil Vallien will bring his sculptures to life in this live demonstration from the Museum’s Amphitheater Hot Shop. This special glasscasting demonstration includes live narration of the casting process. As a special part of this demonstration, the sculptures created will be available for sale in addition to the select works that comprise Passing Through.*

*Pieces made during the demonstrations will be available only if they are premium quality.

*Programming Update: This special demonstration will feature a collaboration between the Museum's Hot Glass Team and Cecilia Kling, Bertil's trusted assistant for over 20 years, that will bring Bertil's masterful designs into being. Following this collaboration, the Museum will host a surprise Kosta Boda artist for an unforgettable demonstration.

Bertil Vallien
Bertil Vallien, born 1938, is one of Sweden's most famous designers and glass artists. As a designer he’s inspired by sketching, where the sketches create their own world of inspiration, and ideas breed ideas. He also finds inspiration in the glass itself that it becomes a transparent container, displaying the contents and allowing it to become a part of the glass. Another source of inspiration is functionality. He wants to create products which invite the holder to really use them, while contributing to the festivities in a natural way. At the same time he also wants his creations to provide a sense of craftsmanship. To contribute in the creation of work opportunities and keeping the glassworks alive is a major driving force in his work.

Bertil studied at the University of Arts, Crafts and Design with Stig Lindberg as his teacher, and graduated as the school's best student in 1961. He then studied some courses at the University of Southern California, but was soon employed as an appreciated designer at a ceramics factory instead before he came to Kosta Boda in 1963. Since then he’s won a number of 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.