Monica Backström
Swedish glass artist and designer (1939–2020)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Monica Astrid Stensdotter Backström (20 May 1939 – 2 July 2020) was a Swedish artist and designer. She is known primarily for her works in glass.[1][2]
20 May 1939
Monica Backström | |
|---|---|
| Born | Monica Astrid Stensdotter 20 May 1939 |
| Died | 2 July 2020 (aged 81) Kalmar domkyrkodistrikt |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Designer, fashion designer, glass artist, jewelry designer |
| Spouse(s) | Adam Backström |
| Partner(s) | Erik Höglund |
| Children | Erika Höglund |
| Parent(s) | |
Life and work
Backström was the daughter of textile designer Astrid Sampe and Sten Hultberg, who worked in advertising and then started a textile business.[1] She studied at the Konstfack and Högre konstindustriella skolan from 1959 to 1964.[3][4][1]
In 1965 she won a competition that was arranged for the 100th anniversary of Kosta Glasbruk (a Swedish glassworks now known as Kosta Boda), which led to her employment as a glass designer at the company.[5][3] She went on to work for Kosta for forty years.[1] In the late 1960s and 1970s, she also designed, clothing, jewellery, furniture, and household objects, made public artworks, and collaborated with artists and designers such as Erik Höglund, Ulrica Hydman Vallien, Bertil Vallien, Ann Wolff, and Göran Wärff [sv].[1]
In Scandinavia, her work has been exhibited at or is held in the Kalmar Art Museum [sv], Nationalmuseum, and the Röhsska Museum amongst other galleries and institutions;[6][7][8][9][10] elsewhere in Europe, pieces by Backström are in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and the Stedelijk Museum in the Netherlands;[11][5] as well as in collections in the United States and Japan.[12][13]