Contrast, colour and artful experimentation
- Alex creates delicate, sculptural pieces using traditional blowtorch-moulding techniques
- In 2018, he opened his workshop in Barcelona’s Sants neighbourhood
- His creative process is fluid and guided by experimentation
When Alex Frosum first enrolled in an introductory glassblowing course at Barcelona’s now-shuttered Fundació Centre del Vidre, Catalonia was experiencing a revival of its centuries-old glassmaking traditions. “People know a lot about Bohemian and Murano glass, but our glass tradition is just as old,” he explains. The school became a lab for Alex's early experimentation — a place he returned to over the years, in between studies at Spain’s Real Fábrica de Cristales de La Granja, CERFAV in France, and the home-workshop of a glassmaster near Osnabrück in Germany. While traditional techniques inform his work, Alex is also inspired by the natural world: his colourful vases, glasses and pitchers evoke the intricate textures and organic forms that can be revealed under a microscope. At his workshop in Barcelona, Alex passes on his blowtorch-moulding techniques to a younger generation. “There is much more interest in glassblowing than before,” he notes. “I am optimistic about the future.”
INTERVIEW
I try to keep it fluid. The technique itself often guides me, but it has its limitations, too. I find that when I stop insisting so much on achieving a fixed idea, new pathways open up. I remain very open to what emerges out of that process.
It is beautiful to awaken someone else’s interest. It gives me personal satisfaction to have sparked a person’s desire to progress with their craft. Also, teaching keeps me connected to what is happening in the world, thanks to the many young people who come through my workshop.
I like to observe how people work with glass, and live through it. It is interesting to see other ways of doing things. Through this exposure, I have been able to identify the approaches that I connect with the most.
I collaborate with my partner, Cécile Ribas, a sculptor. We are experimenting with combining ceramics and glass, and were honored to have our sculptures selected for the 2025 Contemporania art fair in Barcelona and the Centro de Artesanía Catalunya.
