Ulrica Hydman-Vallien - powerful imagery in Glass and Art
Ulrica Hydman-Vallien (1938–2018) was a renowned Swedish artist, celebrated primarily as a glass artist, but also as a painter and ceramist. She trained at the Swedish Art and Craft School, where she studied under the legendary Stig Lindberg. Her career began as a ceramist at Åfors Glassworks; after nine years, she shifted her focus to designing glass, though she continued her work in pottery. In the late 1980s, she also designed porcelain for Rörstrand.
In 1972, Ulrica started working for Kosta Boda Glassworks. Her glass creations are distinguished by their vibrant, hand-painted decorations featuring people, animals, and flowers—themes that also appear in her paintings and lithographs. Her art exudes a sense of the "different" and the extraordinary.
Her breakthrough series, "Caramba" and "Open Minds," marked her rise to artistic prominence, and her bold, colorful glass art became a major success for both Kosta Boda and Åfors.
