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History of the Fräbel Studio
Hans Godo Fräbel founded the Fräbel Studio in 1968 to give expression to his then novel concept of sculptural flame worked glass. At that time crystal glass was not considered a serious art medium and artists were not utilizing the beauty and diversity that the techniques of flame worked glass offers to create unique art pieces.
Before the 1960’s glass designers would give their design to a factory glass worker, who would then try to create their design in glass. Harvey Littleton and Hans Godo Fräbel were some of the first artists who choose glass as their art medium.
Hans Godo Fräbel was born in Jena, East Germany in 1941. He was the third child in a family with five children. The tumultuous political climate in existence after WWII necessitated a family migration to a small city called Wertheim in West Germany, where Fräbel’s father opened a scientific glass factory with a business partner. After moving a few times, the family ended up in Mainz am Rhein, a much larger city in West Germany, where Fräbel’s father got a position as a controller at the Jena Glaswerke. At the age of 15, Fräbel did not enjoy school very much and his father then directed him into a “Lehrausbildung Program” (a traineeship) as a scientific glassblower at the prestigious Jena Glaswerke in Mainz, West Germany. Within 3 years, Fräbel received his “Gehilfenbrief,” an apprenticeship diploma, showing that he had mastered the trade of scientific glass blowing.
In 1965 he came to the United States and settled in Atlanta. There he obtained a position at the Georgia Institute of Technology in their scientific glass blowing laboratory. During this time, he continued his art studies at Emory University and Georgia State University.
While working at Georgia Tech, Fräbel’s creative talents were often sought after by professors and acquaintances alike to create crystal glass sculptures as gifts for friends, partners and business associates. With so many people enjoying the beauty of his glass sculptures, Fräbel felt strengthened to continue his quest to become an artist.
In 1968, Fräbel decided to set up his own glass studio in Atlanta, Georgia. Over the next 40 years, he would follow in accordance with the European tradition of apprentice and master: As the master artist he would pass his skills on to a handpicked group of apprentices, who after many years of training would become master artists in their own right.
Although Fräbel’s art received much attention in the United States, his international breakthrough as a glass artist was not until 1979 when his pop art sculpture “Hammer and Nails” was utilized as the feature piece of the New Glass Art Exhibition. For the next several years, the exhibition toured the world visiting museums in numerous major cities. This international exhibition recognized Hans Godo Fräbel as one of the founding fathers of modern torch work in the world of art.
Paul Gardner, late curator of Ceramics and Glass at the Smithsonian Museum, attributed the beginning of the modern lampworking studio art movement to leaders like Fräbel in The Collectors Encyclopedia of Antiques.
“Fräbel’s work embodies a host of mixed expressions, which find their voice in the enormous diversity of his art. His rapid exhaustion of any given subject matter and his sudden interest in a new field have given him the reputation of impetuosity in the field of torch worked glass art, which has perfected his unusual precision at the torch. This aptitude for excellence was developed through the rigorous technique of the German master craftsman system, thus earning him the nickname of Machine Hands.”
Over the years Fräbel’s reputation as a master in glass art has spread worldwide beyond the glass community. Fräbel art pieces can be found in public and private collections in over 80 countries worldwide. Some of the more illustrious collectors of Fräbel glass art are Queen Elizabeth II, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan, current and former heads of governments such as Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Anwar Sadat as well as museums in London, Paris, Tokyo, Dresden, Valencia, Corning, San Francisco, New York and Washington D.C.
Two of the most famous trademarks of the Fräbel name are the “Hammer and Nails” sculpture from the New Glass Art Exhibition which is currently housed in Washington D.C.‘s National Building Museum and was featured in both LIFE magazine and the New York Times; and the playful, cavorting clowns which received worldwide recognition with the Absolut Vodka advertising campaign in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Hans Godo Fräbel was the first glass artist honored with the title of Absolut Artist. Other famous artists that were chosen as Absolut Artist are Andy Warhol and Keith Haring.
Until the mid nineties, the Fräbel Studio created art pieces almost exclusively in clear borosilicate, a strong, brilliant crystal that is resistant to scratches and which if broken can usually be restored without a trace of damage. “In the mid 1990’s, technological advances in Borosilicate glass allowed the artists of the Fräbel Studio to use color glass. Since that time, color has formed an increasingly important part of the Fräbel repertoire. Other techniques the Studio employs are sandblasting and painting. Sandblasting gives the sculpture a frosted, highlighted appearance, which is an interesting optical illusion. This optical illusion is produced by the human eye, which cannot handle the diffractions of the fine indentations in the glass. The indentations in the glass reflect all colors of light from its surface, giving it a whitish tint.
The work of the Fräbel Studio has become so well known that its location is a source of entertainment and education and is on the itinerary of many regional tour guides. The Studio has accepted students to work directly with Fräbel artists to learn about glass and glass art.
Studio sculptures of the Fräbel Studio are embossed with the trademarked “FS,” which stands for “Fräbel Studio,” wherever space permits on the piece itself. The Fräbel name and the initials of the artist who executed the design are engraved into the mounting peg, which holds the sculpture steady in its base. The executing artist sculpts the piece entirely by hand, based on the model created by the designer. These Studio sculptures are called Multiple Originals because each sculpture is uniquely created and molds are never used. The vast majority of original Fräbel Studio models are designed by Hans Godo Fräbel himself.
One-of-a-kind Fräbel sculptures are signed with “GF,” which stands for Godo Fräbel. These sculptures are one-of-a-kind exclusives or limited editions. Although an original study model has been created, it will never leave the Fräbel Studio. The mounting peg bears the year of its creation.
