About
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.
Public Collections
Lena Bergström has designed several prize-winning products and received numerous awards including 12
‘Excellent Swedish Design’ awards. She has works in the permanent collections of the: Nationalmuseum,
Stockholm, Sweden | The Rohsska Museum of Fashion, Design & Decorative Arts, Gothenburg, Sweden |
Cleveland Museum of Art, USA | Nasjonalmuseet, Oslo, Norway | The Victoria & Albert Museum, London,
UK.
