Michael Bang

Michael Bang (1942–2013) was a Danish glass designer associated with Holmegaard and Fyens Glasværk during the second half of the 20th century. As the son of the glass designer Jacob E. Bang, he came from an important Danish design family and developed his own distinctive approach to glass, working with colour, layered material, and carefully controlled form. His designs range from functional glassware to lighting and decorative objects, reflecting both the craft traditions of Danish glass and the more expressive design language of the 1960s and 1970s.

Biography

Michael Bang was born in Denmark in 1942. Early in his career, he worked in Bjørn Wiinblad’s workshop in Copenhagen and later at the Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Factory. He then designed glass for Ekenäs glassworks in Sweden between 1966 and 1968, before joining Holmegaard Glassworks in Denmark in 1968.

From 1969, Bang developed the Palet series for Fyens Glasværk in Odense. The series included spice jars, vases, storage jars, salt and sugar shakers, and bowls, and became one of the best-known design products within the Holmegaard group. Palet was made in cased glass, using double layers with air between them and bright colours that reflected the visual language of the 1970s.

Bang also designed lighting, including the Astronaut wall lamp from 1970, produced in one piece of white or orange opal glass. His work with lighting shows his interest in the soft diffusion of light through glass and in simple, rounded forms that were both functional and visually distinctive.

At Holmegaard, Bang later designed glass services including Fontaine from 1987 and Platina from 2000. Fontaine, with its characteristic bubble in the glass, became one of his most recognized later designs and demonstrates Holmegaard’s advanced craftsmanship in mouth-blown glass.