Szkło [Polish: glass, pronounced /shkwo/] are functional glass sculptures and collectible design objects, hand-blown by Aleksandra Zawistowska with a team of craftsmen. Szkło is a celebration of materials and the glassblowing process, with no two pieces alike.
Szkło is a combination of an imaginary approach, years of craftsmanship experience and an admiration for the raw material. Szkło stems from challenging the conventional glassblowing process, turning it into a playful experiment instead. As no traditional moulds are used in the process, the sculptures assume coincidental, spontaneous forms, often challenging the notion of beauty. The glassblowing process becomes as important as the final form itself.
The mission of Szkło is to push the boundaries of functionality and material characteristics, turning the simple act of eating and drinking into an experience. It celebrates uniqueness and diversity. It is an invitation to limit our possessions and enjoy the quality of individual objects instead.
Szkło Studio was established by Aleksandra and her brother Wojciech Zawistowski in 2022.
From Sand to Szkło
Szkło is a practice of slow and careful production that challenges the patterns of traditional, mass production. The process of creating Szkło begins with conceptual sketching, outlining the ambition for each piece. Once the production begins, the process is guided by an organic approach. The designs are shaped from bespoke moulds made in the workshops from available materials, such as stacked bricks, and chunks of wood or stones. The remains of these natural materials are often captured between layers of glass and visible in the finished sculptures. Following forming, sculptures cool for two days, and are subsequently moved to the cold workshop where they are being ground and polished.
Szkło pieces are designed for daily use as well as for special occasions. Szkło can be incorporated as a functional part of your daily routine or simply as a decorative object for your home. The intention is to emphasise the properties of the material, such as its transparency, brilliance, light refraction. The multi-layer structure captures the entire blowing process in its mass and form. Szkło captures the process of glassblowing by visualising it for future users.
Szkło is a collective work of craftsmen guided by Aleksandra Zawistowska. The production of a single piece spans around five days.
Aleksandra Zawistowska
artist, designer, working in many fields and techniques, founder of Szkło Studio. A graduate of the Faculty of Architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology and the Studio for Immediate Spaces at Sandberg Institute. Scholarship holder of UrbanGlass in New York, published in the annual list of BNO: Dutch Designers Magazine of 2023, selected for Stretching the Definition of Design by GLUE Amsterdam. Finalist of the Kunszt: More Light Program of the Starak Family Foundation.
In her practice, Aleksandra combines a passion for raw, natural materials with an element of spontaneity in design. Her fascination with glass stems from its contradictions - its transformation from hot, liquid magma into a brittle sculpture. She started working with glass while studying at Sandberg Instituut, which she graduated from in 2022. She also works as a sculptor with metal, stone and ceramics.
Her projects have been presented in the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Hungary, Denmark, Georgia, Ukraine and Italy, in institutions such as the Museum of Warsaw, the National Museum in Krakow, Het Nieuwe Instituut, Het HEM, Dutch National Opera, Architecture Biennale in Tbilisi, as well as private ones: Nilufar Gallery in Milan, Fredericia Furniture in Copenhagen. Aleksandra’s glass was exhibited at the Object Rotterdam, where she was titeled the New Talent 2023.
In 2024, she will hold artistic residencies: The Arctic Circle Expedition and in the Sculpture and Ceramics Studio in the Baltic Gallery of Contemporary Art in Ustka.
For more visit her website.