Glass Collectibles for IKEA Art Event 2018

And while I'd previously featured Nathan Jurevicius' "GLASS OWLS", I've never truly featured these collectibles for IKEA, until today. Here are some snaps and video promos for your Wednesday reading pleasures and perhaps even "non-toy" purchasing considerations? :)


Eight selected artists have been invited to contribute to the 4th annual "IKEA Art Event 2018" - including Joe Ledbetter (Los Angeles), Arkiv Vilmansa (Indonesia), Michael Lau (Hong Kong), Nathan Jurevicius (Canada), Junko Mizuno (Japan), Coarse (Germany), James Jarvis (UK) and Glass artist Ludvig Löfgren from Sweden - all of who have designed individual "characters" that has since been made into glass collectibles, courtesy of the Målerås glassworks in Sweden.



Promotions has been slowly building up since the announcement circa July 2017, with the event slated to launch in April 2018, with images since released from a variety of sources, including the artists themselves (check out the featured Instagrams here in this post).




Featured above are snaps of the display in IKEA Burbank in the U.S. (images via @joe_ledbetter, and IKEA Columbus are featured below (pics via Laura Kuenzli), with availability elsewhere in April.



I am personally hoping the products will make their way to Singapore's shores, it will be a real kick to see the artists' work being introduced to non-toy collectors who might not be familiar with their art.

Neither "glass ashtrays" or "fancy paperweight" (debatable), there are positioned as "collectibles" - to which "converts" like us have come to understand and appreciate, but to everyone else? I'd be very interested to see how the response is to this path beyond the sub-culture realms of "art toys" and into main-culture of commercialism, and how it affects everyone...

Here are some self-promos from the individual artists, along with design motives and description.

Look Into My Eyes / 2018 / Glass Sculpture / 8.5’’ — We try to understand where our figures fit in the broader scope of artistic representation, and in this case we were interested in exploring the symbolism of a fox. In our culture there is the idea that a fox is sly, and in Japanese lore the fox is a shape-shifter that can take on human form and even achieve immorality. But in creating this unique character we asked ourselves: What about the fox who is not so clever, who does not want to trick others for her own benefit? What happens to the fox whose ecosystem is threatened and disappearing? With eyes lost in her stunned face and hiding behind a bushy tail, this fox is shy, vulnerable, afraid of the world, and feels endlessly like prey. She is always on alert but never ready to attack. She is an outsider among her species. — — #coarse #ikea #art #resin #style #lifestyle #arttoys #toys #vinyltoys #designertoy #Gallery

A post shared by coarse (@coarselife) on Mar 19, 2018 at 1:27pm PDT

I came up with an idea that belongs to my belief; that we as humans will come back to our bones. This figure is named “Hira”. Hira means good dreams. I’ve always wanted to do a figure that really represents me as a toy designer and a painter, and for me this one does. It’s an abstract visualization of the life that we’ve been through. It unravels in my explicit imagination of cartoon characters that entangled in a power struggle to emerge to the ultimate realm . #IKEA #ikeatoday #ikeaartevent2018 #arkivvilmansa

A post shared by ARKIV VILMANSA® (@arkivstudio) on Mar 21, 2018 at 4:32am PDT

This beautiful figure ”Hira” is now available in selected IKEA stores in the US. Soon will be available worldwide. Mark your calendar on 28th March 2018, we will get in touch with you guys on Ikea Art Event at @ikea_id Please join us.. stay tuned . #IKEA #ikeaartevent2018 #ikeatoday #arkivvilmansa

A post shared by ARKIV VILMANSA® (@arkivstudio) on Mar 20, 2018 at 9:34pm PDT

This is ‘Nocturnal’, designed by me as part of IKEA Art Event 2018! The glass figurines I and seven other awesome artists designed are supposed to be available at IKEA stores worldwide in April, but looks like some IKEA stores in the US are already selling them. The 3rd photo was taken at the Burbank store by @joe_ledbetter . Availability depends on the area you live. Some locations/ online IKEA stores may/may not have them. Please contact your local IKEA store or their online store directly and ask if they'll have IKEA Art Event 2018 glass figurines! Thanks! *US retail price is $29.99. 水野が「イケア・アートイベント2018」のためにデザインした「Nocturnal」です！８人のアーティストが、それぞれガラスのフィギュアをデザインしたこのシリーズは、4月に日本のイケアでも発売されます。実店舗、オンライン共に販売予定とのことですが、念のため、お近くのイケアに直接お問い合わせをおすすめします。 商品名は、「イケア・アートイベント2018」フィギュアです。 #IKEA #maleras #målerås #Glassfigurine #IKEAtoday  #ikeaartevent #ikeaartevent2018 #joeledbetter #michaellau #nathanjurevicius #jamesjarvis #coarse #junkomizuno #arkiv #イケア #水野純子 @ikeatoday

A post shared by Junko Mizuno (@junko_mizuno_art) on Mar 20, 2018 at 3:15am PDT

And here's a look at the packaging box, as well as the collectibles "in-hand" - courtesy of a video from the ToyGodd himself!

I trekked to my closest IKEA to try and score a Joe Joey Ledbetter glass figure. Sold out! If you’re looking for these I wouldn’t wait!

Posted by Eric Frank on Saturday, March 24, 2018