Born in 1931, Gunnar Cyrén is a Swedish silver, glass, and industrial designer. After completing an apprenticeship in silversmithing and a period of study at the Konstfackskolan in Stockholm, Cyrén worked as a silversmith in Uppsala. In 1959 he was appointed to the Orrefors glassworks, where he mastered the new medium. He soon attracted critical attention...
Read the Designer StoryBorn in 1931, Gunnar Cyrén is a Swedish silver, glass, and industrial designer. After completing an apprenticeship in silversmithing and a period of study at the Konstfackskolan in Stockholm, Cyrén worked as a silversmith in Uppsala. In 1959 he was appointed to the Orrefors glassworks, where he mastered the new medium. He soon attracted critical attention through work exhibited at Svensk Form in Stockholm in 1961 and 1963.
Working closely with the factory's glassblowers his work became widely known for its use of bright colors that were vividly seen in his Pop glasses of 1966. Gunnar Cyrén was awarded the prestigious Lunning Prize in the same year. Following a period as artistic director at Orrefors he returned to his home town of Gävle in 1970 and began designing for Dansk International, a firm with a high reputation for Scandinavian tableware. In 1973 he once more took up silversmithing, establishing a studio and shop and from 1976 worked for Orrefors on a freelance basis.
Gunnar Cyrén was selected to design both the glassware and flatware for the 90th anniversary of the Nobel Prize. Each year the long elegant tables at the prestigious Nobel Prize banquet are set with Cyrén's handsome designs.