Zelmer Olsen

About

Being both a classically trained glass blower by glass makers such as Susanne Jøker Johnsen, Stephen Gillies and Kate Jones in glass studios in Denmark, England and Norway as well as having a BA and MA in glass and glass design from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Design in Bornholm and Copenhagen, my work spans between both functional design products, sculptures and conceptual installations.

Over the years I have developed my own sense of aesthetics, which is always present in my work whether functional or artistic. In particular it shows in my way of using the inherent qualities of glass such as optical refraction and transparency in combination with natural materials like rocks, sand, volcanic ashes, metals and light.

Lately, as a natural development of working with these raw materials, questions of how space in and around the object or installation is affected, has occurred in my work. My latest spatial structures and sculptures still incorporates elements of glass, but in such a way, that the glass’ own spatial qualities and relations are questioned and investigated through its visual transparency.

I hereby open up into a second dimension because of the change of focus away from the actual object and in to a secret world of abstraction and patterns. I offer the viewer a chance to explore the otherwise invisible qualities and details of the material which leads me to, that aesthetic is not only about the outer layer of beauty and visual satisfaction, but more about the pleasure of the thoughts behind, the coherence and function of things.