BUBBLE – Captured in Glass

The 100th anniversary of the birth of Timo Sarpaneva is being celebrated with a major exhibition at the Finnish Glass Museum.

In this visually rich and refined exhibition, the spotlight is on the stick-blowing technique and its artistic variations. The exhibition explores the relationship between creativity and innovation, as well as the seamless collaboration between the designer and glassblowers.

“For Timo Sarpaneva, glass was a spatial material. Already in his early works, such as Orkidea, Ilmat, and Lansetit, the artist focused on the inner world of the piece. Over the course of his extensive career, he captured bubble seas, nebulae, and air lenses in glass. The magical quality of glass is enhanced by its unique optics and the play of light,” says Marjatta Sarpaneva.

The theme of bubbles is present in one way or another in all the glass works featured in the exhibition. Visitors are guided through both the iconic glass art of the Iittala glass factory and masterpieces created on the island of Murano. The exhibition is not only a journey into Sarpaneva’s unique glass art, but also a deep dive into bold experimentation, the development of glass techniques, and the craftsmanship of glassblowing.

The exhibition architecture has been designed by Sarpaneva Architects.

The works on display are drawn from the collections of the Finnish Glass Museum, the Collection Kakkonen, the Museum of Architecture and Design, and private collections.