N° 7 : ANN WÅHLSTRÖM
“The Glass Artist”
Ann, with her exceptional aesthetic voice, strong creative vision, and unforgettable laughter is our seventh portrait.
As one of the most celebrated Scandinavian glass artist, Ann has risen to fame due to her creativity, skill and persistence. Ann lives, breathes, and thinks in glass !
Influenced by the free approach to design that she encountered at Pilchuck Glass School in Seattle, her work retains a distinct identity through the surprising monumental scale, unpredictable organic forms and minimalist choice of colors. Ann is drawn to the spontaneity of the process, starting off by drawing loose nature-inspired patterns in watercolor before the shapes grows in the hands of the glass blower.
« Glass does not want to be tamed, it has a language of its own. The shapes, colours and patterns follow the glass as air, heat and gravity make their marks » Ann says.
Unlike any other material, glass is modelled from a cooling, moving liquid, frozen in time at the very last second as the glass sets. It’s a carefully choreographed tempo between the glassblower and the artist sharing a momentum of swiftness and slowness, from hot to cold, like a conductor with his orchestra.
Ann’s work is appreciated all over the world and can be found in several museums such as the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the National Museum in Stockholm just to mention a few. She has also worked for the prestigious Swedish brands Kosta Boda and Svenskt Tenn.
In 2019, Ann was awarded the Prins Eugen medal by His majesty the King of Sweden.
