Æsa Björk’s artistic journey with glass began at the Glass Department of Edinburgh College of Art, where she earned a 1st class BA (Hons) degree in 1995, followed by an MA in 1997. A turning point in her career was when she participated in the exchange program at VSUP in Prague in 1994, studying under Vladímir Kopecky. This experience deeply influenced her work, sparking a passion for using glass as a sculptural material.
Since 1998, Æsa has frequented Pilchuck Glass School, initially as a student, teaching assistant and an Emerging Artist in Residence and later as an instructor in 2016 and 2019. Other professional development includes her time as an Artist in Residence at the Corning Museum of Glass in 2006. Æsa has also held a three-year position as a visiting artist and faculty member at the School of Art and Design, Sculpture/Dimensional Studies, Alfred University, from 2011 to 2014 and has taught occasional courses at Konstfack in Sweden. In 2007 she co-founded S12 an open-access gallery and workshop in Bergen, where she currently serves as artistic director. Throughout her career, Æsa has been supported by various grants, including a 10-year working grant from the Norwegian Ministry of Culture in 2020.
Æsa’s artistic contributions have gained international recognition, exhibiting her work internationally. Notably, she received the grand prize at the Toyama International Glass Exhibition in 2018 for her collaborative piece “Shield II” with Tinna Thorsteinsdóttir. This artwork is now part of the permanent collection at the Toyama Glass Art Museum in Japan. In 2022 her work Fragments won the 1st prize at the Coburger Glass Preis and is now part of the permanent collection at the Kunstsammlungen der Veste Coburg – Europäisches Museum für Modernes Glas. Her work can also be found in KODE Art Museums in Bergen, Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum and the National Museum for Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo Norway. Soon the work Embers I-IV made for the exhibition Passage @ The Byre for Bullseye Projects will also be included in the collections of the National Museums of Scotland.
Today, Æsa Björk continues her exploration of glass as a sculptural medium experimenting with new technology and methods. With a base in Bergen, she combines her own creative work with guiding and advising fellow artists through her involvement with S12, where she aims to support innovation and highlight the expressive possibilities of glass.
“Æsa Björk works with big glass objects which she includes in larger installations. By combining glass objects with video projections, she has previously demonstrated different ways of experiencing time: from the short moment which perhaps only leaves a faint, frozen track for posterity, to the experience of different states of being in human life. Through a fascination with the eye as a kind of interface between internal and external reality, she uses glass and movements of the eye as a meeting place for reflections on life and existence, on seeing and being seen. Björk’s glass casts of hands are a continuation of her exploration of aspects of existence. The various hands possess a significant proximity and act as doors into a large range of emotions. Through her focus on the human body, she looks at the theme of both the brutal and the vulnerable nature of transience.”
Anne Karin Jortveit – translation Benedict Barclay
Member of
SIM, The association of Icelandic visual artists, NK, norske kunsthåndverkere / Norwegian Crafts Association, GAS, Glass Art Society
