Anne Holtrop Low-relief

Working between the Netherlands and Bahrain, Holtrop explores the expressive potential of raw materials that emerges though transformative processes. This new series of tables is made through casting molten glass — the oldest form of glass making. The technique sees molten sand poured into graphite moulds before cooling and solidifying into transparent panes. This complex process requires tremendous precision in temperature, timing and material, resulting in a body of work that honours glass as a fusion of climate and geology.

Translucent, crystalline formations within the slabs are created by casting the glass against moulds with sand relief imprints — a low-relief inspired by ancient stone reliefs that Holtrop observed in Aswan, Egypt. The matter-to-matter exchange between mould and liquid produces thick, irregular low reliefs in the glass that modulate light passing through it. Fracturing the transparency of the glass, the resulting imperfections act as visible traces of a moment when matter was in transition between two states.

Drawing from architectural principles, the heavy panes of each work rest against and support each other, creating natural balance without any joinery. Changes in light and environmental conditions mean the glass and the space it inhabits perform in endless varieties, rendering the relationship between space and matter inseparable. The shadows, caustics and prisms projected at different angles allude to the multiplicity of meanings and experiences that can be drawn from these artistic statements. 

For Holtrop, the transformation of sand into a transparent glass remains one of the most mesmerising material transformations. These new works embody his fascination with the transition from liquid to solid states of matter. Through intervention in that decisive, the architect achieves resonant meditations of the form and the character of glass.

Beyond his design and architectural practice, Holtrop’s extensive experience in arts and culture includes designing the Bahrain Pavilion at Milan Expo in 2015 and co-curating the Bahrain Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2016. His conceptual pavilion The Trail House exemplifies his seamless blend of art and architecture, while his creative inspirations range from land artists such as Michael Heizer to conceptual and material frameworks developed by Robert Smithson. Holtrop’s design of the Misk Art Institute in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which employs his singular cast glass technique at an architectural scale, is expected to open in 2027.