Glass Sculptures by Bert Frijns

So last week was pretty hectic here, we were running between London and the office for Design Week, but it was great to step outside the bubble and get inspiration in other creative fields. One particular place where we picked up a few ideas was at the Victoria and Albert Museum, although not packed full of design work like we expected the glassware section threw up an array of names that I’d never really heard of before. You had some classics from the Bauhaus disciple Wilhelm Wagenfeld to the lovely works by Finnish architect and designer Aino Aalto. But some of the sculptural stuff was very incredible since I’ve been studying some of the processes behind the glass blowing technique, it’s one of the hardest crafts to master in my opinion.

One specific individual showing at the museum was Bert Frijns who was born in Ubach over Worms, Netherlands. He studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie, a university of applied sciences for Fine Arts and Design, where he learnt in the glass department, after graduating he attended specialist courses at the department of sculpture and glass. After setting up a few independent workshops and even working a short stint in France he decided to move to Zeeland, the southwestern province of the Netherlands, with his family. He says that he’s inspired daily by the surrounding sea and by living in contact with nature, I can imagine there are some fantastic views to stimulate the mind.

Some obvious things come to me when looking through his work in a group format, one being the fluidity of his glasswork, secondly the simplicity and minimal flare that Bert has. Although this simplistic touch is obvious to see it shouldn’t be mistaken as lack of detail, he uses extremely complex methods when working with glass and this results in these flowing forms that are both architectural and sculptural. I decided it would be a great idea to showcase a selection of imagery from his website, which in turn will hopefully guide you that way to find out more. Some of the photos are just breathtaking, it’s amazing to think that you can create such thin and delicate objects like this that look almost impossible to even defy gravity, and trust me they look even better in person!

www.bertfrijns.com

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