Bertil Vallien | Super Egg Desert

Vallien’s Super Egg Series from the Kosta Boda Artist Collection are part of the artist’s homage to Ingeborg Lundin and her classic Apple. Each artwork is mouth-blown by hand, resulting in a unique object every time.

As kids, we grow up blowing soapy bubbles into pop. It is an entertaining pastime, but also a reminder of how fragile and transient life can be. During a session in the studio, Vallien playfully suggested:

“No casting today, let’s blow, let’s show what human breath can do with glass.” 

In the last thirty years, such bubbles have taken on various scales, from beans and eggs, to watermelons. During the Spring of 2023 and to continue with the blowing, as opposed to the casting, Vallien organised a quasi-competition amongst his team — to see who could blow the biggest bubble, a feat that was both exacting and spontaneous. 

The results from that impromptu moment are these exquisite voluminous eggs, each characterised by additional pigment and recycled glass emphasising an organic and modulating surface.