Viking Ship

Viking ship with two rectangular sails divided into 12 squares of clear and colored glass with iron fish hanging from the bottom of them and a ship body outlined in iron and lined with circular pieces of clear and colored glass
Catalog #: 
47
Date: 
20th Century
Artist: 
Höglund, Erik
Subject Matter: 
Ship

Medium: Wrought Iron and Glass
Edition: 
Size:
Location: Outside 103 LC
Donor: Donated by E.F. Lindquist; conservation and exhibition generously supported by Professor Emeritus H. Dee and Myrene Hoover.

About the Artwork

Viking Ship has a balanced design: two sails, alternating clear and brown glass circles making up the body of the vessel, and a flag on the sternpost (back of the ship) that corresponds to the sculptural stempost (front of the ship). Even the squares composing the two sails create harmony in the distribution of clear and brown glass. The cluster of stars completes the composition. The balance present in Viking Ship is unusual in Erik Höglund's œuvre; he frequently strayed from these principles, and in doing so foreshadowed the aesthetic that would become popular in the studio-glass movement.

Keywords: 
Sculpture, Metal, Ship, Representational, Mixed Media, Glass

More about Erik Höglund

1932-1998
Nationality: 
Swedish
Biography: 

Erik Höglund reduced his color palette to clear and browns at a time when the Swedish glass industry celebrated color. The muted color scheme allowed his craftsmanship and design to shine through. His materials often had imperfections in them, contributing to the rugged appearance of some of his pieces.