Lene Bødker wins the Oscar of glass art

Lene Bødker Section, 2007 Cast Glass, hand-sculpted with hammer and chisel Represented at SOFA CHICAGO 2007 by Galleri Grønlund, Copenhagen

For the first time ever, the coveted Japanese prize, the “Kanazawa Glass Award,” goes to a Danish artist. On August 30, Lene Bødker receives the award, which is only given every third year and is considered the glass art equivalent of Hollywood’s Oscar awards.

600 applicants from 37 countries vied for the internationally renowned “Kanazawa Glass Award 2007″, each submitting a slide photo of one of their works. Only 75 applicants made the short-list. The jury, which is made up of international professionals, chose Lene Bødker as the winner of the contest and the recipient of the ”Grand Prize” - the most esteemed award of them all, ranking above the gold medal and the four silver medals. ”The Grand Prize” of Kanazawa is the highest international accolade that a glass artist can hope for. Apart from the honor of receiving this prestigious award, the prize-recipient receives 1 million yen and an invitation to participate in ”The International Exhibition of Glass Kanazawa 2007” in September at the esteemed Notojima Glass Art Museum.

Lene Bødker’s work is featured in the exhibition “Glasss 2007″ at The Danish Museum of Art & Design in Copenhagen through August 26. Later this year, Bødker will mount a solo exhibition, which opens on December 9, 2007 and takes up the entire new wing of Glasmuseum Ebeltoft, Denmark, featuring a selection of her objects, sculptures and reliefs from the past two years.

Bødker (born 1958) belongs in the elite of Danish glass art, and the Kanazawa Award marks the culmination of her growing international success. Lene Bødker is associated with galleries in France and the USA, has staged several solo exhibitions in Paris, and recently participated in “Contemporary Glass” at the Heller Gallery in New York. Galleri Gronlund, Copenhagen will represent her work at SOFA CHICAGO 2007.