For over 25 years, Maarten Vrolijk (b. 1966, Oss, Netherlands) has built an international reputation with work that is direct and unpretentious, free of any self-conscious distance between the artist and the object. The Amsterdam-based artist and designer considers it important to elaborate on the simple, unequivocal nature of a product. His art language is so unusual because it consciously plays with shapes, colors and materials in an uncontrived way; his works should also make people’s everyday lives that bit more beautiful through the many little details that evoke the unexpected.
Vrolijk is perhaps best known for glass vessels with their outgrowth of colored glass fragments. The volatility in accomplishing the exceptional thickness of his vases creates a risky balance between strength and delicacy. The thermal stress caused when trying to equalize the interior and exterior temperature of the cooling vessels is fraught with the threat of breakage. The success of these pieces lies in the crystalline clarity posed against their substantial physical impact. To create each piece, a meticulously patterned bed of broken glass pieces is strategically laid down and heated to a specific temperature in order to be properly fused to a nascent blown glass form. The temperature and timing must be precisely in tandem. It is a high-stakes process that results in a kind of frozen sense of chaos.