Carl-Harry Stålhane

CARL-HARRY STÅLHANE (1920-1990)

Carl-Harry Stalhane is one of the most renowned representatives of the illustrious Swedish ceramic design of the 20th century. He started working for Rörstrand in neighboring Lidkoping at the age of 18. Initially, he decorated ceramic wares as an assistant for the leading artist Gunnar Nylund. Carl-Harry decorated Rörstrand’s exclusive Flambé range as well as producing idyllic floral designs.

In the mid 1940s, Carl-Harry Stålhane began to develop his own stoneware. He had his first solo exhibition in 1948, impressing the public with an ability to work in most contemporary styles of stoneware. But after studying in Paris in the late 1940s, Carl-Harry found a style that was truly his own. Spurred on by a deep love of the ceramic wares of the Far East, Carl-Harry liberated himself from the European tradition of ceramics, finding inspiration in foreign cultures.

Carl-Harry Stålhane’s production of unique ceramic works of art increased notably in the late 1950s. In 1960 he reached something of a peak with an exhibition at Galerie Blanche in Stockholm.

Carl-Harry Stålhane left Rörstrand in 1973 since he felt that the company no longer valued the artists. With a couple of colleagues he started Designhuset which was a ceramics studio sited in a former waterworks outside Lidkoping. The new company rapidly produced a series of unique art ceramics as well as simpler wares for the home.