Today The Blot visited my local IKEA store to discover that the IKEA Art Event 2018 had hit Houston, Texas a few weeks earlier than advertised!!! The goal of this event is to “make art affordable for everyone while exploring the imaginative world connected to figurines.” For 2018’s Art event release, IKEA has teamed up with some of the biggest names in designer art toys – Joe Ledbetter, Junko Mizuno, Michael Lau, James Jarvis, Coarse, Nathan Jurevicius, Arkiv Vilmansa and Ludvig Löfgren – to create some amazing (and affordable) glass art figurines.
For the IKEA Art Event 2018, these eight artists were invited to the Målerås glass factory in southern Sweden to create contemporary glass figurines. Henrik Most, Creative Leader of this collection, explained, “we want to celebrate the amazing world of art collectibles and the imaginative universe connected to figurines, how they spark our fantasy, represent everyday and turn it upside down with fun and playfulness.”
While glass is a new material for many of the artists, IKEA was curious about how the different artists would apply their creativity, skill and knowledge to working with this unique substance. From a bunny to a, owl to fingers giving the peace sign, these detailed miniature glass sculptures have emerged from the imaginations of the contemporary urban artists. The IKEA Art Event 2018 will be available at all IKEA stores for a limited time for just $29.99 starting in April 2018 – but many stores already have these amazing designer glass figurines on store shelves now!
The IKEA Art Event 2018 Collection includes eight glass art multiples: a clear “Soul Toy” ghost by Michael Lau, a blue fox “Coarse” by Mark Landwehr and Sven Wasch, “Hira” by Arkiv Vilmansa, a green owl “Sutemos” by Nathan Jurevicius, the beautiful purple “Nocturnal” by Junko Mizuno, the “Evil Eye” by Ludvig Löfgren, a red “Bunny” by Joe Ledbetter, and a clear “Peace Sign” by James Jarvis.