Edwin Ohrstrom- the master of Ariel glass
Edwin Öhrström (1906-1994) sculptor and glass artist, trained at the School of Fine Arts in Stockholm and at the sculpture department of the Royal Swedish Academy of Art, where he, among others, had Carl Miles as a teacher. In 1931 he stayed in Paris, where he studied at the Académie Colarossi and at Academie Modern by Fernand Léger.
in the period 1932 to 1957 Edwin Öhrström worked two months per year for Orrefors Glassworks. After 57 he worked for Lindshammar Glassworks, where he mainly worked with sculptures.
At Orrefors he worked with all kinds of glass - engraved glass, cut glass, and Graal / Ariel glass. In 1940 he designed an engraved glass "wish to the moon" , which became one of the biggest commercial successes for Orrefors. It was especially the Ariel glass, which made him famous. Ariel technique is a further development of Graal glass. Ariel glass has entrapped air bubbles; which form part of the decoration (Ariel = air or airy spirit).
It is a technique Öhrström developed with glassmaker Vicke Lindstrand and the technical manager at Orrefors. Lindstrand moved to Kosta Glassworks, so it was mainly Öhrström who became associated with the Ariel glass. It is certainly deserved. He has made numerous amazing Ariel glass, which contributed to
put Swedish glass on the world map. Some of the most famous glass pieces are "Gondoliere" from 1940, "Nuit dans Les Tropiques" (night in the tropics) 1949 , "Northern Lights" from 1952, and "The Girl and the dove" from the 1957.
