art and design
Colour of the Afterlife – glass art exhibition is open until 4.2.2024
Galleria Himmelblau, Finlaysoninkuja 9, Floor 2B, Finlayson historical district, Tampere, Finland.
Gallery open Wed-Fri 11-18, Sat-Sun 12-16. Free admission.
Update : the exhibition is extended until 4th of February, meet the artist event is held on Sunday 7th of Janury 1-3pm, welcome!
English version later :
Tervetuloa näyttelyyni Galleria Himmelblaulla 9.12.2023-7.1.2024!
Avajaisia vietetään lauantaina 9.12. klo 16-19.
Ella Varvio : Tuonpuoleisen värejä
Galleria Himmelblau, Finlaysoninkuja 9, Finlaysonin alue, Tampere
Galleria avoinna ke-pe 11-18, la-su 12-16. Suljettu ma, ti ja juhlapyhät.
Tuonpuoleisen värejä tuo Galleria Himmelblaun Puuvilla-saliin Ella Varvion tarinallista lasitaidetta. Teokset ovat saaneet innoituksensa vanhan kiinalaisen keramiikan väreistä ja uskomuksista. Lasiin on piirtynyt tuonpuoleisen ratsuja ja teosten valmistukseen on käytetty perinteisiä käsityötekniikoita kuten lasinpuhallusta ja kaiverrusta. Näyttelyssä on myös linkki uuteen lasitutkimukseen, sillä esillä on Tampereen yliopiston fotoniikan laboratorion kanssa toteutettua väritutkimusta. Fotoniikka eli valotiede tutkii lasia valona läpäisevänä aineena, monialaisessa PhotonArt hankkeessa selvitettiin kiinalaisen keramiikan lasitteiden värejä ja luotiin niiden pohjalta lasinpuhallukseen soveltuvia lasivärireseptejä.
Näyttelyä ja PhotonArt -hanketta on tukenut Suomen Kulttuurirahaston Pirkanmaan Rahasto.
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Welcome to my exhibition at Galleria Himmelblau 9.12.2023-7.1.2024! The vernissage is held on Saturday 9th of December at 4-7pm
Ella Varvio : Colours of the Afterlife. Galleria Himmelblau, Finlaysoninkuja 9, Finlayson historical district, Tampere, Finland
Gallery open Wed-Fri 11-18, Sat-Sun 12-16. Closed Mon-Tue and on public holidays. Free admission.
Colours of the Afterlife brings Ella Varvio’s glass art to Galleria Himmelblau. The artworks are inspired by colours and subjects of ancient Chinese ceramics. Varvio’s imagery is often narrative and her art pieces are made using traditional craft techniques such as glassblowing and engraving. Moreover the exhibition has a link to new glass research as there is a section about colour research conducted together with Tampere University Photonics Laboratory. Photonics is the science of light and it studies glass as a material that transmits light. In the multidisciplinary PhotonArt project colours of old Chinese glazes were analyzed to create new glass materials.
The exhibition and PhotonArt project is supported by Finnish Cultural Trust Pirkanmaa Regional Funds
This summer our PhotonArt project proceeded to the actual melting and blowing of coloured glasses. For this I had rented the Lasikomppania glass studio in Nuutajärvi and I was full of nervous excitement. Making glass is expensive and you’re never fully certain of the outcomes… Luckily all went very well!
The colour recipes were designed by Tampere University Photonics Laboratory as part of PhotonArt -project that combines art and science. Our project leader Dr. Laeticia Petit is the professor of photonic glasses at Tampere University and her team researches glass as a tool to transport light. Photonic glasses have applications in optical fibers, lasers, optical amplifiers, multicolor displayers, just to cite a few.
In the PhotonArt project we have investigated colours of glass and glazes both from artists and scientists point of view. The project is supported by Finnish Cultural Trust Pirkanmaa Regional Funds.
All the colours turned out super nice and were suitable for glassblowing. The days at the studio were hectic and hard work as we produced new artworks. Many thanks to my gaffers and studio staff : Jenni Sorsa, Samuli Parkkinen and Alge Julija.
Some of the shapes are inspired by ancient Chinese vessels and vases. These new artworks are not yet ready as they need coldworking and engraving. I’m however, already very pleased with how they turned out.
The final results can be seen in Tampere at the end of this year. Stay tuned, still some months to go but lots to do!
Galleria Himmelblau, Tampere, Finland 9.12.2023-7.1.2024
Earlier this spring I had a very interesting week in Germany – I was working at Glashütte Gernheim with glass engraving together with a colleague from Finland, Henriikka Pöllänen. The residency was part of Glass Engraving Network’s and Glass Museum Gernheim’s Gravur on Tour -exhibition. We were working at museum’s studios with great assistance from glass professionals : Heikko Schulze Höing, Korbinian Stöckle, Rasit Rejwan Toplu.
Here are some pics from the travel :
It was rather hectic to work with engraving and Graal technique in such a short time, but I managed to produce some nice pieces. Many thanks to the museum, organizing glass engravers and the museum staff for the opportunity! The new pieces made during the week will join the Gravur on Tour -exhibition.
Gravur on Tour – exhibition is held in the old manor house building ”Herrenhaus” and the other museum buildings are close by – such as the Glasturm glass studio. Gravur on Tour is a wonderful showcase of contemporary glass engraving and definitely worth visiting!
Gravur on Tour 19.03. – 09.09.2023
LWL Museum – Glashütte Gernheim
Gernheim 12, 32469 Petershagen
Open Tuesday – Sunday 10-18
Glass Museum Gernheim in Germany is hosting an exhibition of contemporary glass engraving art from allover Europe. The show wants to highlight how old craft skills can turn into contemporary art. Exhibition is called Gravur on Tour and it’s curated by the museum and a network of European glass engravers. I am proud to be part of the exhibition with three artworks. Exhibition opens 19th of March and continues until 9th of September 2023.
Gravur on Tour: Glashütte Gernheim 2023
19.03. – 09.09.2023
LWL-Museum Gernheim Glassworks
Gernheim 12, Petershagen, Germany
Museum open from Tuesday to Sunday 10-18
During the turn of the year I have few of my artworks at Winter Art Market at Gumbostrand Konst & Form, a lovely gallery near the sea, in Sipoo not far from Helsinki. For example Okapi is there looking for a new home :
In 2023 I will continue with the super interesting PhotonArt project which I explained a bit in my previous post. I will be the artist in the team that explores colourants for glass.
Exhibition wise next year will bring up a group exhibition in Germany and a solo exhibition in my hometown Tampere, Finland. The latter presents the art that I am making as part of PhotonArt project. Galleria Himmelblau in old industrial buildings of Finlayson factory will host my exhibition at the end of 2023.
In Germany, Glass Museum Gernheim will present an extensive exhibition of contemporary engraved glass, proud to be part of that! The engraving exhibition will be there 19.3.-9.9.2022.
How about combining glass art, archeology and photonics in one project? I have been starting on a multidisciplinary PhotonArt project that does exactly that!
In this project glazes from ancient Chinese ceramics are being analyzed to both understand their composition and to design new glass materials and colours. Tampere University has received ceramic shards dating from Song Dynasty (960-1279AD) from the collections of ASET Stiftung. Song Dynasty ceramics are known for their elegant design and variety of different glazes. Glazing means a thin layer of glass both decorating and protecting the surface of the pottery.
Specific glazes were chosen for this project based on their color and texture which are due to the presence of crystals and metallic particles. In the first phase of the research the composition of glazes was analyzed using different scanning methods such as electron microscope and X-ray fluorescence.
The ancient Chinese glazes serve as an inspiration for development of new glass materials for both art and science. The aim is to create similar colours and metallic crystals in different glass compositions. The focus for photonics is in optical glass and enhancing and altering its properties, whereas glass artist is more interested in colour hues and artistic expression.
I consider it a great priviledge to be the artist in this project and get tailored colours to work with. Melting the glasses, blowing and sculpting them, grinding and engraving will reveal how the colours suit for small studio use.
Furthermore I will look for inspiration from the past, especially Song Dynasty ceramics – whether it be classical shapes, certain colours or motifs from tomb statues. At the end of next year I will be having an exhibition at Galleria Himmelblau, Tampere – there I will show the outcomes of this project!
The project is supported by Finnish Cultural Trust’s Pirkanmaa Regional Funds. Earlier this year they released an article on PhotonArt, you can check it on the link below :
https://skr.fi/en/whats-new/when-archaeology-meets-contemporary-glass-art-and-advanced-photonics
I am having a mini-exhibition of my glass artworks and samples from PhotonArt project at the French Institute in Helsinki 1-17.6.2022. Moreover the institute is organizing a Café scientifique talk around the new era of glass. Talk is held on 16th of June, glass scientists Laeticia Petit and Jonathan Massera – and glass artist yours truly – are talking about past, presence and future of glass!
More info and registration to the event :
Welcome to the new age of glass
Voipaala Art Centre near Valkeakoski, Finland is hosting a group exhibition of contemporary Finnish glass art. Exhibition is open 11am – 5 pm from 12th February until 10th April 2022. More info of the exhibition and it’s artists can be found here :
https://voipaala.valkeakoski.fi/en/news/glass-art-exhibition/
I am honored to be part of international glass art exhibition in Germany – the exhibition is titled Caution! Fragile! – Achtung! Zerbrechlich! in German. It shows different aspects to glass craft and how the tradition is changing. Exhibition takes place at Waldmuseum Zwiesel, and the city itself has very long tradition in glassmaking.
Ella Varvio