Bengt Berglund

Signe Persson-Melin

Ceramist and enamel artist Bengt Berglund studied at Gustavsbergs own workshop school from 1954 to 1956 and at Konstfack from 1954 to 1960. During his third year at Konstfack’s evening school, he spent his days throwing pottery with Berndt Friberg. Berglund was active in Gustavbergäs studio between 1960 and 1977 and experimented with enamel painting at Gustavberg’s between 1960-82, after which he pursued a career as an independent artist. In the ceramics workshop, Berglund was skilled in pottery but soon developed a personal style far from traditional stoneware. He looked up to Anders B Liljefors and his experimental ceramics and continued in the same spirit, continuing to challenge the ceramic material. He rolled out slabs of clay to create various figures and animals, working with different textures. Eventually, he began working with unglazed stoneware, which he colored with iron oxide, leaving patterns and cracks as it was wiped away. Textiles created surface effects.
Berglund worked with utility ware, unique pieces, and decorative objects, and he has held several exhibitions and completed public commissions, including ceramic sculpture and enamel work in the PUB department store in Stockholm. During the 1970s, Berglund increasingly focused on his work with enamels and continued until the bathtub factory at Gustavsberg closed in 1993.