Mona Morales-Schildt was born in 1908 in Gothenburg and studied at the Higher School of Arts and Crafts, now Konstfack. After working at Gustavsberg and Arabia, she was employed by Nordiska Kompaniet. In 1950, she traveled to Italy to assist the glass master Paolo Venini and also offer him an exhibition opportunity at NK. Mona succeeded in her mission, and two years later, Venini presented his glass in Stockholm. Mona and Paolo became good friends.
Kosta's artistic director, Vicke Lindstrand, had seen Mona's potential as an exhibition superintendent and also sensed a talent for design. In 1958, he offered her a design position at Kosta, and the following year, she launched her groundbreaking series "Ventana." The clear glass, with under- and overlay in strong colors, was cut in various ways to create optical reflections when exposed to direct light, similar to prisms.
The inspiration came from Italian glass, which Paolo Venini introduced her to. However, the name Ventana, meaning "window" in Spanish, reflects her Spanish roots from her father Olallo Morales, who was a composer and conductor.
Like a conductor, Mona Morales-Schildt had composed sleek and timeless glass pieces, symphonies in glass, light, and color. Since then, no Swedish glass artist has managed to depict glass in the same way as Morales-Schildt. After leaving Kosta in 1971, Mona spent the rest of her life in the Spanish town of Almuñécar, not far from her father's homeland.
