Bertil Vallien (3)

Bertil Vallien has appeared on The Beret Project before, most impressively in November 2011. 

His beautiful work in glass more than justifies another post on Bertil. 

Bertil Vallien (1938–) was born in Sollentuna, just north of Stockholm. He and his six siblings grew up in a strictly religious and restricted family environment. But early on, Bertil discovered the joy of creating.

"I came from a rather uncultured environment, a working-class home, where you didn't have a clue what you were worth. There was no sparring partner, no one to measure up against, no one who valued what I did. Except they loved to watch when I drew horses."

Bertil Vallien met his great love Ulrica Hydman during his studies at Konstfack. They were married from 1963 until her death in 2018. She was a famous artist who mainly worked with glass and painting. 

Bertil and Ulrica never worked together but were each other's mainstays and best critics. The couple had two sons, one of whom runs the Vida art hall on Öland.

Bertil Vallien is still very much active as a creative artist. In Bertil's exhibition "Under ytan" (Under the Surface) at Spritmuseum in Stockholm 2018, black glass and darker motifs were at the center. Wrecked ships and desolate landscapes stood on pedestals in a dark room with a light source above it. The art objects were made in a coarse-cut black glass that suggested an archaeological excavation of a desolate civilization.

The discovery of the black glass was made by mistake. Bertil wanted to produce a slightly darker blue glass and therefore ordered two grams of extra cobalt during the glass melting. Instead, it became two thousand grams extra, and the molten glass mass looked like asphalt when it left the crucible.

"At first I thought it was completely ruined. Then I started working on it and thought it was amazing. It brought me completely different ideas than before."