Vicke Lindstrand (1904-1983)
Vicke Lindstrand was one of Sweden’s most influential glass artists, with a long, fruitful career where he set the tone of the style and quality of Swedish glass production over many decades. He was originally trained as an illustrator and was very accomplished as such, which is evident for example in his glass engravings. Lindstrand was employed as an artist by Orrefors glassworks from 1928 to 1940 where he worked alongside Simon Gate and Nils Landberg, among others.
Vicke Lindstrand turned to ceramics and worked as creative leader at Uppsala-Ekeby between 1942 and 1950. He brought with him his high sense of quality which elevated Uppsala-Ekeby’s overall production and was very important for the company’s development.
From Uppsala-Ekeby Lindstrand returned to glass as creative leader at Kosta glassworks, where he worked from 1950 to 1973, breaking new ground with new shapes, strong colors and a ceaseless richness of ideas. He made many important contributions with public artworks, among the the “Prisma” glass sculpture which was uncovered in Norrköping in 1967. At the time it was the largest glass sculpture in the world with its imposing height of 11.5 meters. Towards the end of his career Lindstrand worked in a small scale with smaller glass studios.