Unknown Destination II

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Object Name: 
Sculpture
Title: 
Unknown Destination II
Accession Number: 
87.4.19
Dimensions: 
Overall H: 11 cm, W: 104.5 cm, D: 13.3 cm
Location: 
Not on Display
Date: 
1986
Web Description: 
Bertil Vallien (b. 1938) was trained as a ceramist. Early in his career, he was influenced by the innovative work of American studio potters such as Peter Voulkos. In 1963, Vallien began to work as a designer for the Åfors Glassworks in Småland, the center of the Swedish glassmaking industry. At Åfors, now a subsidiary of the well-known Kosta glass company, he produced designs for everyday objects, limited-production art glass, and unique works. He supported the involvement of artists in the factory, and he championed handcraft over the machine. In the mid-1960s, Vallien made his first experiments with sand casting glass. He later introduced this technique at Åfors and taught it to students in workshops around the world. With sand casting, Vallien was able to translate his sculptural ideas into glass. Unknown Destination II reflects his interest in boats, which he uses as a metaphor for the journey (both physical and psychological), time, exploration, and self-discovery.
Provenance: 
Vallien, Bertil (Swedish, b. 1938), Source
1987-01-26
Category: 
Inscription: 
B. Vallien P. 17 86
signature
Primary Description: 
Colorless non-lead glass with multi-colored inclusions; sand-cast with hot-worked inclusions; copper. Long, narrow, ovoid boat hull; long solid shapes with pointed ends, smooth flat top surface, sides that taper inward to a point; translucent surface can be looked through to view embedded metal and hot-worked inclusions in abstract and "human" forms, (two) in a variety of colors and patterns; exterior walls retain sand mold crust and graduated coloration from pigments sprinkled into the mold, intermittent abstract patterns protrude from external wall in low relief; inscribed on top surface: "Kosta / Unik 3476 / B. Vallien".
5000 years of glass (2012) illustrated, p. 224, #283; BIB# 133950
Glass, Knocking at the Door of Art (2010) illustrated, p. 319; BIB# 115616
Contemporary Glass Sculptures and Panels: Selections from the Corning Museum of Glass (2008) illustrated, p. 21, 112-113 (fig. 33, plate 32); BIB# 107478
Il Corning Museum (2005-06) illustrated, p. 23 bottom right; BIB# AI98014
Treasures from The Corning Museum of Glass (1992) illustrated, pp. 138-139, #139; BIB# 35679
Hikari no shouchu: sekai no garasu = The glass (1992) p. 146, #248; BIB# 58995
Recent Important Acquisitions, 30 (1988) illustrated, p. 118, #47; BIB# AI20606