Addison Miller, 2025 Curation Department Intern
Swedish artist Bertil Vallien (b. 1938) is widely recognized as a pioneer in contemporary glass art through his development of techniques in sand casting—where molten glass is poured into a mold of compacted sand. He helped redefine the possibilities of glass in the late 20th century. Working with themes of duality, myth, and humanity, Vallien creates dreamlike sculptures that invite reflection, disquiet, and awe.
Bertil Vallien was born in 1938 in Sollentuna, Sweden, as one of six children in a deeply religious family. Though he came from a working-class environment, he discovered his love for art early on—particularly in drawing horses, which his classmates loved to see. This joy in art brought him to Konstfack University in Stockholm, Sweden, where he initially studied ceramics. He was named best in his class at his graduation in 1959, after which he took a position at a ceramics factory in Los Angeles. This more relaxed, experimental artistic environment—a clear contrast with Sweden’s highly disciplined design culture—encouraged him to explore new directions in a liberating and formative way.
Vallien later returned to Sweden and began working for Erik Rosén at the Åfors glassworks, now part of Kosta Boda. There he designed for the company and found inspiration in glasswork, enjoying the experimental play and unpredictable elements of the medium. He pushed the boundaries of glass as a medium, developing a glue that would let artists paint directly on the glass, and enhancing the use of sandblasting to create a matte appearance on his glass surfaces. Vallien continues to work at Kosta, experimenting with glass and promoting craftsmanship over production to the young artists he mentors.
Arguably his most iconic contribution to the glasswork is his development and refinement of sand casting in the 1970s. Dissatisfied with traditional glasswork’s focus on perfection and beauty, Vallien sought out a process that would allow for more freedom and expressive potential. His method begins with a sketch and a model, which he presses into packed sand to create a mold. After carefully removing the model, he would pour molten glass (1200°C) into the sand mold, then use a blow torch to smooth out the top of the surface. This would then be placed into an annealer (a cooling oven) for several days, and once cooled, the glass could be removed from the sand and carefully brushed over to remove any leftover sand. This technique became Vallien’s signature.
Each cast object is unique, shaped by the unpredictable elements of sand, fire, and time. The molten glass itself is a paradox: hot then cold, fragile then solid, fluid then fixed. The artist must consider the mass of the glass, the moisture and grain of the sand, and the cooling schedule. Because of this, the final object is as much a collaboration with the material as it is a product of the artist’s hand.
One of the Fort Wayne Museum of Art’s own works by Vallien, Unique Head, is a striking example of his sand casting technique and symbolic vocabulary. Like much of his sand casting, Unique Head evokes feelings of duality: the human and the industrial, the ancient and the modern, the spiritual and the psychological. A silver-toned industrial helmet, punctuated with subtle spikes, encases a solemn face. The helmet features a narrow rectangular window through which the face is visible—enigmatic expression visible only through a sliver of clear glass.
This composition elicits feelings of entrapment and introspection. The face, cast separately from the larger mold, appears both isolated and preserved. Displayed on a plinth at eye level, this head meets the viewer’s gaze directly. The use of a helmet suggests warfare and protection, while the translucent glass invites light and suggests interior life. In Vallien’s words, “There is a beauty also in the dystopian.” Rather than produce dazzling, decorative glass, he seeks to create, “abstract singing.”
Vallien’s fascination with heads began in 1994 after reading a newspaper article about Karolina Olsson, a 14 year old girl who lived outside Öland, Sweden, who slipped on ice and hit her head so hard that she went unconscious, and supposedly remained unconscious for 32 years. After she awoke, the only thing she remembered about those 32 years was a vast darkness, and blue men.
This story was the inspiration behind Vallien’s Blue Heads, a series of glass heads cast in deep, oceanic blue hues. Their facial expressions range from calm contentment to fear and distress, but always contain a ghostly spirituality. Vallien exhibited his heads in the ruins of Borgholm’s castle in Sweden, an area near where Olsson had fallen, where he would then achieve international acclaim.
For Bertil Vallien, glass is not just a medium—it’s a mirror of the human experience. Even after decades of innovation, Vallien continues to work with humility and curiosity, driven by the belief that glass holds stories—sometimes even spirits—within. His works do not explain themselves; they ask to be felt. Like dreams made solid, they remind us that identity, memory, and meaning are always shifting, always suspended somewhere between light and shadow.
For more works by Vallien and other glass artists, plan a visit to FWMoA’s Glass Wing!
Works Cited
“Artist of the Month: Bertil Vallien.” Contemporary Glass, Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass, Dec. 2011, contempglass.org/artists/entry/bertil-vallien#:~:text=Artist%20Statement%3A,It%20has%20everything.
“Bertil Vallien.” Mother Sweden, http://www.mothersweden.com/bertil-vallien-glass-head-overview.html. Accessed 16 May 2025.
“Studio Focus: Bertil Vallien.” Schantz Galleries Contemporary Glass, Schantz Galleries Contemporary Glass, 7 June 2020, http://www.schantzgalleries.com/notes-from-the-directors/studio-focus-bertil-vallien.