Suppanen, Koskinen, Karsikas, Schirm at Galleri Glas

Four Finnish Glass Artists Exhibit Together for the First Time at Galleri Glas

On 21 October 2026, Galleri Glas opens Tusen sjöars glöd (Thousand Lakes’ Glow), bringing Ilkka Suppanen, Harri Koskinen, Matias Karsikas and Renata Schirm together for the first time. The exhibition runs until 13 November at Nybrogatan 34 in Stockholm. Four distinct artistic practices show the range of contemporary Finnish glass art, from optical experiments and monumental volumes to organic sculptures and technically innovative material combinations.

Finland has an internationally significant glass tradition, shaped by close collaboration between artist, designer, material and craftsperson. The four artists carry that tradition forward in new and individual directions. The title refers to Finland as the land of a thousand lakes, and to the heat that glass depends on. Water, ice, light and fire recur across the four practices as materials, associations and optical phenomena.

Ilkka Suppanen: lightness, light and reflection

Ilkka Suppanen (b. 1968) trained in architecture and in furniture and interior design in Helsinki and at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. He founded Studio Suppanen in 1995 and works between Helsinki and Milan. His international breakthrough came in the late 1990s as a co-founder of the design collective Snowcrash, which challenged the established image of Scandinavian design through new materials, technical innovation and a radically light aesthetic.

At Galleri Glas he shows sculptural glass works from the series Vide and Liquid Mirror. Suppanen examines the transparency and reflection of glass and how it changes with the light and the viewer’s position. His long work with lightness moves here from industrial design to a freer artistic expression. He received the Torsten and Wanja Söderberg Prize in 2015 and the Kaj Franck Design Prize in 2020. His work has been shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Venice Architecture Biennale, and is in the collections of Centre Pompidou in Paris and Nationalmuseum in Stockholm.

Harri Koskinen: from industrial design to free glass art

Harri Koskinen (b. 1970) is one of the most significant Finnish designers of his generation. He studied at the Lahti Institute of Design and at the University of Art and Design Helsinki. His international breakthrough came in 1996 with the Block Lamp for Design House Stockholm, in which a light bulb is enclosed by two cast glass blocks. The lamp has been in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York since 2000.

In Tusen sjöars glöd the audience meets a freer, more sculptural side of his work. Koskinen leaves the functional demands of the utility object behind and works with free and form-blown volumes. The glass has a strong physical presence and can recall ice, water or geological formations. Light gathers and bends in the massive glass bodies, while subtle shifts of colour appear deep in the material. Koskinen has collaborated with Hermès, Iittala, Artek, Arabia, Fiskars, Muuto and Genelec, among others. His awards include the Compasso d’Oro, the Pro Finlandia medal and the Torsten and Wanja Söderberg Prize.

Matias Karsikas: nature, material and transformation

Matias Karsikas (b. 1989) is a sculptor based in Helsinki and Billnäs. He studied ceramics and glass art at the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture from 2009 to 2018. He works with glass, ceramics and untreated wood, starting from technically advanced methods and from the meeting of materials with different properties. Mouth-blown glass is combined with ceramic elements, precious-metal coated surfaces and wood that keeps its natural structure.

Nature is a recurring theme. Karsikas explores the relationship between the organic and the man-made, and questions of resilience, vulnerability and survival. Coloured glass forms can grow out of ceramic or wood, while each material keeps its own character. He was named Young Designer of the Year by Design Forum Finland in 2020 and received the Pro Vitrea Award in 2023. He has had solo exhibitions at the Finnish Glass Museum, KWUM – Karin Widnäs Ceramic Museum and Institut finlandais in Paris. His work is in the collections of EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Design Museum Helsinki and the Finnish State Art Commission, among others.

Renata Schirm: optics, materiality and technical innovation

Renata Schirm (b. 1974 in Budapest) is a Finnish-Hungarian glass artist living and working in Helsinki. She studied at the University of Art and Design Helsinki, now part of Aalto University, completing her studies in 2010. For more than twenty years she has explored the physical and optical properties of glass, working with both hot, molten glass and cold or prefabricated material. Technical development is central to her practice, and she has created several methods of her own, including a patented technique for integrating glass with concrete.

For the exhibition she presents new works made with her Myriad technique. Schirm received the Ornamo Award in 2018 for her artistic work and material innovations. She has exhibited internationally at Design Miami/Basel, Collectible in Brussels, CHART Art Fair in Copenhagen and Révélations in Paris. Her work is in the collections of the Finnish Glass Museum, the Finnish State, the Aalto University Foundation, the Saastamoinen Foundation, Collection Kakkonen and mudac in Lausanne, among others.

Four approaches to one material

For Suppanen, glass becomes light, reflection and optical shift. Koskinen concentrates its mass and weight in sculptural volumes. Karsikas lets glass meet ceramic and wood in works shaped by nature, material and transformation. Schirm studies the optical presence of glass through her own techniques and geometric constructions. Together they show a contemporary Finnish glass field where art, design, craft and material research are parts of the same artistic practice.

“It is the first time these four artists are shown together. They have completely different artistic languages, but share a deep knowledge of glass and a desire to move the material forward. We have had a fine collaboration with Wivan Nygård-Fagerud, director of the Finnish Institute in Sweden. The exhibition shows both the continuity and the renewal of contemporary Finnish glass art,” say Anna Bromberg Sehlberg and Elin Forsberg, founders of Galleri Glas.

About Galleri Glas

Galleri Glas is located at Nybrogatan 34 in Stockholm and was founded by Anna Bromberg Sehlberg and Elin Forsberg. Tusen sjöars glöd is on view from 21 October to 13 November 2026.

By Editorial Team, ScandinavianDesign.com