ArtistSwedish
Lasse Östman
2 active items
Lasse Östman came to ceramics through an unusual route. Born in Västerås on 14 June 1944, he trained as a civil engineer at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, graduating in 1971. He never formally studied clay. The craft was entirely self-taught, built from years of personal experimentation at the wheel and in the kiln.
His first studio was in Gothenburg, where he worked between 1973 and 1976. He then moved north to Dalarna, constructing a new workshop in Vansbro in 1976–77. That studio became the base for his working name, Vansbro Stengods, and he stayed there for the rest of his life. Vansbro, a small town in central Sweden with no particular ceramics tradition, became inseparable from his identity as a maker.
Östman's work centred almost entirely on thrown forms: bowls, vases, and vessels shaped on the wheel, with no applied ornament beyond the glaze itself. The forms were disciplined and classical, drawing from East Asian ceramic traditions - particularly the quiet restraint of Song dynasty stoneware. What set him apart was the glazes. Over decades he tested approximately a thousand glazes per year, developing a range that included traditional types such as oxblood (sang de boeuf), celadon, tenmoku, and shino, alongside his own crystalline glazes. The crystal glazes - where zinc silicate crystals grow across the surface during controlled cooling - were especially technically demanding, requiring precise kiln management to produce.
During the 1980s he collaborated with Gustavsberg, Sweden's oldest and most prominent ceramics manufacturer, producing signed individual pieces sold under the Östman/Gustavsberg mark between 1984 and 1987. In the 1990s he worked as a glaze consultant for Höganäs Keramik. Both engagements reflected the esteem in which his technical knowledge was held within the Swedish ceramics industry.
Nationalmuseum in Stockholm and Röhsska museet in Gothenburg both hold works by Östman - the two most significant design and applied arts museums in Sweden. He also participated in group exhibitions, including a show at Keramikgruppen Kaolin on Hornsgatan in Stockholm. Östman died in Vansbro on 8 June 2016, just days before his 72nd birthday.
At auction, Östman's work circulates primarily in the Swedish secondary market. On the Auctionist platform, 19 items have appeared across houses including Stockholms Auktionsverk Helsingborg, Falun Auktionsbyrå, Auktionshuset Kolonn, and Formstad Auktioner. Lots typically consist of bowls, vases, and groups of smaller pieces; the highest recorded sale on the platform reached 1,250 SEK for a set of four glazed stoneware bowls from his own workshop. Prices remain modest relative to his museum presence, making his work accessible for collectors interested in Swedish studio ceramics.