Lars Hellsten

He entered the glass industry in 1964, joining Skruf Glassworks in Småland. During his eight years at Skruf he developed an interest in textured surfaces and heavy, massive forms - a direction that distinguished his early work from the sleeker modernism then prevalent in Swedish glass. In 1972 he moved to Orrefors, by then Sweden's most internationally visible glassworks, and his career took on a different scale. The collaboration lasted more than 25 years and produced the work for which he is primarily known.

At Orrefors, Hellsten worked across two distinct registers. The first was the centrifugal technique, in which molten glass is spun to create symmetrically flared forms. The Corona series, introduced in 1978, became his most commercially successful application of this method. The eight-sided bowls and vases, made from clear crystal, play with refracted light in a way that made them one of Orrefors' best-selling classic designs. Corona remains actively traded on the secondary market.

The second register was the Ariel technique, one of the most labor-intensive methods in studio glassmaking. Ariel involves engraving a pattern into a partially finished blank, casing it in a second layer of glass, and trapping air in the engraved channels during a final blow. The result is a piece containing suspended bubbles or patterns visible within the body of the glass, with a characteristic silvery shimmer. Hellsten's Meteor series used this technique to create vases with atmospheric, almost geological interiors. The Ariel work demanded close collaboration between designer and master glassblower, and Hellsten's sustained engagement with it placed him among the relatively small group of designers who worked the technique at depth.

His other notable series include Odyssey, Discus, and Amour. His work entered the permanent collections of Nationalmuseum and Nordiska museet in Stockholm, Röhsska Museum in Gothenburg, Smålands Museum, Hallands Kulturhistoriska Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Hellsten died on February 16, 2022, in Sweden at the age of 88.

At auction, his work appears predominantly in the Glass category, which accounts for the large majority of lots. The top houses for his work in Sweden include Olsens, Svensson Kalmar, and Auktionskammaren Sydost - regional houses in the south of Sweden, close to the Småland glass district where his career was rooted. Top auction results include a Klotvas Meteor Ariel piece from Orrefors at SEK 2,200 and an Ariel vase at SEK 1,041. Prices at Swedish auction tend to reflect the still-broad availability of his production work; individual Ariel pieces in documented series command higher attention from specialist glass collectors.