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Olle Ohlsson - Silver artist and Silversmith
Olle Ohlsson is a designer who is not taking
"usability" into account or adjust his design to
rational rules. His work in silver and gold shows
that playfullness is often in evidence.
A look through Olle Ohlsson´s many fantastic objects
shows that he nearly always uses the raised vessel
as his base. Already in the 1960s he discovered that
turning a bowl uppside down results in a head. The same
simple principle applies to most of the hats. They are bowls
that have been endowed with a special kind of life.
Looking at Olle Ohlsson´s art, ranging as it does from
unconscious extravagance to everyday simplicity, it
strikes me that he is really looking for the object´s
innate mysteriousness.
The material tranforms things into something else
than what they appear to be when he plays with
proportions and meanings and provides the careful
observer with constant suprises. Often with enigmatic
undertones that invite different interpretations.
There is no book of rules for a creative silversmith,"
says Olle. "One must give oneself time to listen to what the silver wants, how it replies to the hammer´s language. As for myself, I am never so much at ease as when I have silver under my hands. There is something mysterious about that."
(excerpts from the book "Silver & Gold", 1991)
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