Bjørn Friborg (b. 1983, Denmark) is well-regarded for his glass sculptures which embody the energy and techniques of the hot shop and its kilns. Friborg considers his blown-glass artworks as “sculptures of a process.” Indeed, his series of dramatic monolithic ovals titled Implosion embodies the dynamics of kinetic energy in action. Each piece represents a split-second collapse, frozen in the instant when the supporting force of air inside the molten orb caves beneath the external pressure of poured glass. In this moment of rupture, exterior and interior are revealed and transgressed; the work folds in on itself. The end result retains stray drips and strings of glass that compose chance line drawings along the inner walls or hang suspended in the interior cavity. Similarly, the collapsed openings capture the moment of impact, not unlike a photograph of a high-speed ballistics test or during the seconds after the blow of a boxing glove connects in the ring. Friborg brings the physicality of the glassmaking process to the fore, intensifying it through contrasting hues of different glass colors mingling. Once flame polished and removed from the punty, the sculptures possess a formal complexity, solid reminders of the balance of creative and destructive impulses and the adrenaline rush so often experienced in glass production.

Friborg’s approach comes out of years of expertise as a practitioner and instructor in glass production. He currently manages the hot shop at Holmegaard Værk Glaskunst, Denmark’s leading glass factory. Friborg received a BFA from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts’ School of Architecture, Design, and Conservation after studying in Sweden at the Åfors Glasbruk, V.1. Mästare Ingvar Carlsson “Kalle Pack,” and the Kosta Glass School. His work has been exhibited throughout Scandinavia and internationally.

Photo by Hans Runesson