WILHELM KÅGE. “Surrea”, vase, Gustavsberg Studio.

White glazed double vase. Carraragods. Marked with gold glaze “Swedish Factory Workers Union”. Height 33.5 cm.

The Surrea series was presented at NK in Stockholm in April 1940 and caused a great stir. Wilhelm Kåge himself has said that Surrea began as a play inspired by Surrealist and Cubist painting but continued as a questioning of “the usual ceramic form stock”. Surrea came in a variety of variations, but the common denominator besides the matte white carrara glaze was precisely the play with form elements, where traditional forms were broken up, put together anew and formed new unexpected combinations.