On 22 May 2026, Bertil Vallien and his team at Kosta Glassworks cast Voyage Grande, the world’s longest glass boat. The work will be on display in the exhibition Voyage Grande at Kosta Boda Art Gallery from 17 October 2026 to 27 September 2027.
Voyage Grande will be unveiled at Kosta Boda Art Gallery on 17 October at 11 am, together with Bertil Vallien.
For several decades, Bertil Vallien’s work has revolved around journeys, the human figure and the unknown. Through recurring motifs such as boats, bodies and vessels, he explores memory, dreams and movement – between places as well as between the visible and the unseen.
The exhibition brings Voyage Grande into dialogue with other works from Vallien’s practice. Together, they reflect a sustained artistic exploration in which material, form and narrative are closely intertwined. Glass becomes more than a material: it becomes a means of exploring depth, transparency and what lies beneath the surface.
Watch the video of the casting
The boat has long been a recurring motif in Vallien’s work. Simple and immediately recognisable, it nevertheless carries a multitude of meanings. It can be a means of passage, a vessel, or a container for memories and experience. The journey may be physical, but it can also be inward – a movement through memory, dreams and the unknown.
In Voyage Grande, this form has grown into a monumental sculptural body in glass. The work is larger than any of Vallien’s previous boats, yet it remains rooted in the same fundamental idea: the human being on a journey.
Quote
I make boats that sinks. Sink through memories and dreams.
Bertil Vallien
In Voyage Grande, this idea takes physical form. The glass creates a thin boundary between the visible and the unknown, between what can be observed and what remains hidden. Like a vessel for stories.
The boat will be unveiled at 11 am on 17 October, together with Bertil Vallien. Don’t miss the exhibition at Kosta Boda Art Gallery, on view from 17 October 2026 to 27 September 2027.
