ArtistSwedish
Bengt Berglund
1 active items
Bengt Erik Berglund was born on 13 July 1936 in Landskrona. He entered the craft world early, enrolling at Gustavsberg's own workshop school in 1954 while simultaneously studying at Konstfack in Stockholm until 1960. During his years at Konstfack's evening school, he spent his days throwing pottery alongside Berndt Friberg, one of Sweden's most respected studio potters - an apprenticeship that gave him both technical depth and a strong sense of material integrity.
He joined Gustavsberg's studio in 1960, where he worked for nearly two decades. At the factory he moved fluidly between utility ware, unique sculptural pieces, and decorative objects. His ceramics gradually shifted away from traditional stoneware conventions: he began working with unglazed stoneware coloured with iron oxide, wiping it away to leave layered patterns and surface cracks that gave each piece a raw, almost geological quality. Artists such as Anders B. Liljefors and his experimental approach to ceramics were an acknowledged influence.
Berglund was also one of the most committed enamel artists to work at Gustavsberg's bathtub enamel factory, where he produced paintings on metal from 1960 until the factory closed in 1993. These ranged from numbered limited editions - including abstract wave compositions and organic forms - to public commissions. Among the latter, he completed ceramic sculpture and enamel work for the PUB department store in Stockholm. In 1968, together with Bengt Serenander, he invented the "Kultstenar" (Cult Stones) - small bone china cubes printed with aphorisms, numbers, and sayings, sold in cardboard boxes with a poster. The concept became one of Gustavsberg's most distinctive design products of the era.
After leaving Gustavsberg's studio in 1977, Berglund continued his enamel work at the factory until 1982 and then pursued a career as an independent artist. His debut exhibition had been held in 1963, and his work has been the subject of a dedicated monograph by Petter Eklund published by the Gustavsberg Porcelain Museum in 2014.
On the auction market, Berglund's work appears primarily at Swedish regional houses and at Stockholms Auktionsverk. All 34 items in Auctionist's database have closed, with the most active sellers being Norrlands Auktionsverk, Formstad Auktioner, and Stockholms Auktionsverk Sickla. Top results have reached 2,300 SEK for signed enamel paintings on metal from Gustavsberg. Ceramics and miscellaneous pieces make up the bulk of what comes to market, reflecting his dual output in stoneware sculpture and enamel.