Lena Bergström
1961, Sweden
Focus & elegance; dramatic sharp graphic shapes; fluid & sensuous curves - just some of the words that spring to mind when looking at the work of Lena Bergström.
Born in 1961 in the far northern town of Umeå, Lena followed a diverse training from window dressing to studying textiles at Stockholm’s prestigious Konstfack school and actually achieved her initial burst of fame for outstanding textile art, which is precisely why Orrefors Studio (Sweden’s then most famous crystal company) head hunted her. The renowned glass company perfected its quest for gathering artists from different fields into a sensational science through out it’s 100 year old history. “Perhaps because I haven’t worked with glass half my life I dare to make the shapes I have done”.
Through her time at Orrefors and now working with Kosta Boda, Lena has certainly pushed the boundaries of what can be done with glass, developing her own distinct language, and earning a staggering 12 ‘Excellent Swedish Design’ awards in the process. Lena expresses herself in many colours combined with the crispest of clear glass but always with a tailor's eye for balance, composition and detail. Thick & thin, mat & glossy are harmoniously brought together. “I am building up a library of colours and forms with personal symbolic value. My design idiom is emotional and physical. The greatest beauty must balance on the brink of failure.”
From her famous Squeeze range, when an over-talkative glass blower allowed a vase to stay in the furnace just a second too long - with stunning results - to the iconic Slitz forms which reinvent the flower vase, one theme runs through out - Lena’s vision of a new basic elegance with no extraneous details.
Lena has designed several prize-winning products and received numerous awards. She has works in the permanent collections of the;
Nationalmuseum in Stockholm | The Rohsska Museum of Fashion, Design & Decorative Arts in Gothenburg | Cleveland Museum of Art in the United States | Nasjonalmuseet, Oslo, Norway | The Victoria & Albert Museum in London
Born in 1961 in the far northern town of Umeå, Lena followed a diverse training from window dressing to studying textiles at Stockholm’s prestigious Konstfack school and actually achieved her initial burst of fame for outstanding textile art, which is precisely why Orrefors Studio (Sweden’s then most famous crystal company) head hunted her. The renowned glass company perfected its quest for gathering artists from different fields into a sensational science through out it’s 100 year old history. “Perhaps because I haven’t worked with glass half my life I dare to make the shapes I have done”.
Through her time at Orrefors and now working with Kosta Boda, Lena has certainly pushed the boundaries of what can be done with glass, developing her own distinct language, and earning a staggering 12 ‘Excellent Swedish Design’ awards in the process. Lena expresses herself in many colours combined with the crispest of clear glass but always with a tailor's eye for balance, composition and detail. Thick & thin, mat & glossy are harmoniously brought together. “I am building up a library of colours and forms with personal symbolic value. My design idiom is emotional and physical. The greatest beauty must balance on the brink of failure.”
From her famous Squeeze range, when an over-talkative glass blower allowed a vase to stay in the furnace just a second too long - with stunning results - to the iconic Slitz forms which reinvent the flower vase, one theme runs through out - Lena’s vision of a new basic elegance with no extraneous details.
Lena has designed several prize-winning products and received numerous awards. She has works in the permanent collections of the;
Nationalmuseum in Stockholm | The Rohsska Museum of Fashion, Design & Decorative Arts in Gothenburg | Cleveland Museum of Art in the United States | Nasjonalmuseet, Oslo, Norway | The Victoria & Albert Museum in London
Exhibitions and further information
2022 Lena 25+ Solo Exhibition • Exhibition catalogue
2017 Stellar Solo Exhibition • Exhibition catalogue
Artist portrait by Jonas Lindström.
2022 Lena 25+ Solo Exhibition • Exhibition catalogue
2017 Stellar Solo Exhibition • Exhibition catalogue
Artist portrait by Jonas Lindström.
Artworks by the artist
