The story of Finland as a land of glass does not begin with glass. It begins with ice. During the Ice Age, Finland was shaped by a vast sheet of ice that retreated in stages, gouging out thousands of lakes, raising long ridges of glacial gravel, carrying sand and stone in torrents of meltwater, scoring grooves into exposed bedrock and scattering ribbons of islands along the outermost reaches of the coast. Then came emptiness. And after that, the forest. The wood. The glow.
This exhibition brings together four Finnish glass artists, each carrying the art of glass forward through a distinctly personal language. Contemporary Finnish glass art is deeply rooted in its history, yet here it takes form through artists who challenge the boundaries of the material itself.
The materiality of glass never ceases to fascinate. It is at once liquid and solid. It is never mute, but remains in constant dialogue with light, space and the viewer.
Ice returns to Finland every winter. Lakes and waterways fall still beneath its surface; rivulets and dripping eaves are caught in frozen formations. Daylight becomes scarce. Then the ice melts, and for the other half of the year the northern latitudes are bathed in light. Always this movement from one extreme to another, the light ceaselessly changing.
Glass gathers and reflects both light and the viewer’s gaze. In this encounter, Finnish glass art is continually born anew.
Wivan Nygård-Fagerudd
Director, Finnish Institute
