Tove Ohlander & Richard Arentzen (AO! Glass)

Tove Ohlander & Richard Arentzen (AO! Glass)
Untitled (Graal vase)*
2011
glass
17"x6"
Value $650
(*Image is representative of the vase in the auction.)

The Swedish Graal technique was developed in 1917 by artist Simon Gats and glass blower Knut Berquist at the renowned Orrefors glass factory in the heart of the Swedish glass region. Graal sits at the crossroads of visual art and glass blowing, where it frees the image from a two-dimensional canvas and gives it new life in the walls of a fine hand-blown vessel.

The Graal piece begins as a colored glass egg. AO! Glass's husband and wife design team of Rich Arentzen and Tove Ohlander work on matching the color and form of the piece with Tove's conceptual sketchs. After they decide on what form the piece will take the egg is covered with protective matting, this matting is the medium with which Tove works. After sketching her design for the piece she uses cutting tools to carve the matting. The next step is sandblasting the egg. Here the matting protects the colored glass, creating forms through positive and negative visual space. After Tove removes the matting and inspects the image she and Rich make the final decisions on size and shape before Rich creates the final piece. Reheating the egg, Rich begins blowing the piece into its final form. Under his experienced hand the egg will hatch, forming a bowl, vase, or plate. The finished Graal is a unique fusion of both artists' visions and a testament to mastery of their mediums.

Rich Arentzen, from the USA, and Tove Ohlander, from Sweden have a Glass Blowing Studio in the South End Arts District at 416 Pine Street in Burlington (behind the new SEABA office). They met at the Orrefors Glass School in Sweden in 1994 and have since lived together in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and the USA.

“We live and work together, creating art glass and raising three kids in Burlington’s South End. Coming from different cultures requires us to be conscious of the power of symbols in order to communicate thoughts and feelings. In our work we employ these symbols to connect with others and to bring to consciousness issues that often remain buried beneath the hectic routine of daily life.”