Berndt Friberg1899 - 1981
Berndt Friberg was one of the most revered figures in 20th-century Swedish ceramics, celebrated for his extraordinary technical precision and poetic sensitivity to form and glaze. Working at the Gustavsberg Studio, he developed a signature approach to stoneware that combined delicate, perfectly balanced silhouettes with surfaces of remarkable depth and complexity. Each piece was meticulously thrown by hand, often in multiple versions, until Friberg achieved the exact proportion and character he envisioned.
His mastery of glaze chemistry remains legendary. Friberg created subtle, luminous finishes with fine tonal gradations, sometimes referred to as “hare’s fur” or “unglazed softness,” that reveal an exceptional command of firing processes and material behaviour. These glazes gave his bowls, vases and bottles an inner radiance that set them apart from other Scandinavian studio pottery of the era.
Friberg’s work reflects a deep respect for craft, a sculptor’s understanding of volume and a lifelong pursuit of refinement. Though quiet and meticulous in his practice, his artistic impact was profound. Today his ceramics are considered masterpieces of Scandinavian design, highly prized by collectors and museums for their elegance, serenity and uncompromising quality.
