Experience of the Month, Denmark
Feel the heat of the furnace in this living tribute to Denmark’s glass-art scene Tucked into the serene landscape of South Zealand, the newly opened Holmegaard Værk has quickly established itself as a hotspot for designer ceramics and glass in northern Europe. The museum pays a lively homage to Holmegaard – Denmark’s biggest name in glass and a formative player in the country’s industrial design history. Here, visitors will find a staggering collection of Holmegaard pieces, modern glassblowing demonstrations, as well as a surprise Picasso exhibition – as you’ve never seen before. By Lena Hunter
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Photos: Holmgaard Værk
“At Holmegaard Værk, we have everything from resident glass artists to glassblowing demonstrations and special exhibitions. It’s an homage to the history of the old factory, and to the living culture of glassblowing in Europe today,” says marketing manager Kristoffer Rosner Rydahl. Holmegaard was established in 1825 in Fensmark, a city about an hour from Co76 |
Issue 145
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August 2022
penhagen. “Today, it’s known as the City of Glass because it evolved around the glass industry. There was no city here before the glassblower workforce moved in,” explains Rydahl. In the 1950s and ‘60s, Holmegaard expanded production beyond basic packaging like milk bottles and marmalade jars to include more artistic interpretations of
glass. “They reinvented themselves. They enlisted great artists like Jacob E. Bang – considered to be Denmark’s first industrial designer – to elevate their glasswork beyond pure utility.” The change ushered in a new era for Holmegaard, in which they collaborated with numerous renowned designers on iconic glass items that have become relics of
