Æsa Bjork

Æsa Björk graduated from the Glass Department of Edinburgh College of Art with a 1st class BA (Hons) degree in 1995 and MA in 1997. In 1994 she was an exchange student at VSUP in Prague and studied with Vladímir Kopecky. This both influenced her work and encouraged her in her pursuit of working with glass as a sculptural material. She has frequented the Pilchuck Glass School as a student and TA since 1998 where in 1999 she also was an Emerging Artist in Residence and an instructor in 2016. In 2006 she was an Artist in Residence at the Corning Museum of Glass. Her work has been shown internationally, she has received numerous grants among them a 5 years working grant from the Norwegian Ministry of Culture 2015-2019. She has had several public art commissions in Norway where she co-founded the open access gallery and workshop S12 in 2005. From 2011-2014 She held a 3 year position as a visiting artist and faculty at the School of Art and Design, Sculpture/Dimensional Studies, Alfred University. Her work is in the collections of the National Museum of Art and Design in Oslo and KODE Art Museums in Bergen, Norway. She currently works and lives in Bergen Norway where she also is an artistic advisor for S12

1995-97 MDes Degree, Edinburgh College of Art, Glass Department.

1994 The Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design, Prague (Vysoka skola umeleckoprumyslova v Praze) 
Glass studio headed by professor Vladimír Kopecky.

1991-95 1st Class BA Honours Degree, Edinburgh College of Art, Glass Department


2009 Pilchuck Glass School, A body of glass, Mark Zirpel and Benjamin Wright

2006 Pilchuck Glass School, “Architectural and Sculptural Kiln-formed glass” Warren Langley

2005 Pilchuck Glass School, “Permanent Image on Glass” Brian Boldon & Mark Zirpel

2004 Atelier Nord, Oslo, Working with Flash (web program)

2001 Pilchuck Glass School, ‘Neon Road Test’ Deborah Dohne and Fred Tschida

1998 Mediaverkstedet i Bergen, (video techniques)

1997 Pilchuck Glass School, ‘Casting Devices for Sculpture’ Gene Koss

Solo Exhibitions
2010 Impressions, S12 Galleri og Verksted

2004 no_on KMR, Kunstnersenteret Møre og Romsdal 

2004 02.03.04. Galleri FORMAT, Bergen

2003 Logen Teater, Bergen

2003 …cover2… Galleri FORMAT, Oslo 

2002 ...cover... Lepramuseet- St. Jørgens hospital, Bergen 

2002 3 på rappen, galleri se, Bergen 

1998 Last d’Vision, Visningsrommet Stiftelsen Kulturhuset USF, Bergen.

Selected Group Exhibitions
2017 4th Documentary Exhibition of Fine Arts\STRESS FIELD, Hubei Museum of Art, China
2016 October- July 2017 European Glass Festival Wroclaw travelling exhibition to Lodz, Legnica & Krakow.
2016 September 10th – November 13th European Glass Context, Bornholm EGC2016- Curated
2016 Transition, Edinburgh College of Art Alumni exhibition
2016 LUXUS Glass Art Society Conference, Corning, NY
2014 Fractured Lives / Fragile Existences, NOoSphere Arts, NYC, USA
2014 The Coburg Prize for Contemporary Glass, Coburg, Germany
2013-14 Nordic Contemporary Glass, The Glass Factory Boda Glassbruk, Sweden, Pera Museum, Istanbul, Turkey
2013 Exploding Boundaries: Faculty and Staff Exploration in Drawing, Fosdick-Nelson Gallery, Alfred, NY
2013 Gage/Gaze, with Hiromi Takizawa, Fosdick-Nelson Gallery, Alfred, NY
2011 GLASS 2011, Gjøvik Kunstforening
2010 Neonjul, S12 Galleri og Verksted
2009 Vevring anniversary exhibition, Vevring
2008 Glass exhibition Nøstetangen Museum Hokksund
2007 Vevringutstillingen, Vevring
2006 Transparent Realisme Nordnorsk kunstnersenter, Svolvær
2005 Galleri Ramsalt, Lindesnes Kystkultursenter
2005 1st International Triennial of Silicate Arts, Kecskemét, Hungary
2003 Galleri I, Bergen
2003 Artists multiples in Showcase, Hordaland Kunstsenter
2002 Young and Hot, Showcase of emerging European glass artists as part of the GAS (Glass Art Society) Conference 29. 05 – 09.06, Societeit Baby, Amsterdam.
2001 HKS, Bergen. Ateliérene I C.Sundtsgt. 55, Group exhibition of the artists working at C.Sundtsgt. 55 in Bergen
2000 Clearly Brilliant A Decade of Pilchuck Glass School’s Emerging Artists in Residence 07.10.00- 01.01.01, Tacoma Art Museum, WA, USA (Catalogue ISBN: 924335-22-X)
2000 Street Level, An international art project incorporating the public space along Nygårdsgaten in Bergen/ Norway (www.streetlevel.de)
2000 Pilchuck Emerging Artists in Residence1999, Riley Hawk Gallery Kirkland/Seattle WA, USA
1999-01 Glokal, IKM Grønland Kulturstasjon, Oslo 20.8’99-30.3’00 (Catalogue ISBN 82 91647-12-7) Touring with Riksutstillinger in Norway Gol Kunstforening / Eiker Kunstforening, / Eidsberg Kunstforening, / Alstahaug Kunstforening, / Sunnfjord Kunstlag, Førdehuset , / Nordischer Klang 2001 Univ. Greifswald (Germany) / Ullensaker Kunstforening / Alta Kunstforening / Sandnes Kunstforening 23.09.01-21.10.01
1998-00 EMBODY Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Sunderland 19.6 – 15.8 ‘99 / ArtSway, Hampshire 18.9 – 7.10 ‘99 / Turnpike Gallery, Leigh 11.12 ‘99 – 22.1 2000 (Catalogue ISBN 0-905108-37-X)Available through Artsbooks International
1998 GLASS Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh (Catalogue ISBN 1 872291 77 5)
1997 25th anniversary exhibition, MHR The Association of Reykjavík Sculptors.
1995 Glass in a different context, Glasgow Central Station, in collaboration with the Art Exposure Gallery.
1995 The Scottish Art Students’ Mixed Media Exhibition, MacRoberts Art Centre, Stirling.
1994 Zurseit 94, Kultur(en) Festival, Waizenkirchen, Austria. (with students of Kopecky)
1994 Palmovka Synagogue, students of Vladimír Kopecky’s Glass studio, Prague.