Artist of the Month
April 2025
Wilfried Grootens 2025
A master of optical illusion and precision, German artist Willfried Grootens transforms layered, hand-painted glass panels into mesmerizing sculptures that seem to defy gravity and dimension. His works invite viewers into an ethereal realm where light, color, and depth shift with every angle. Grootens is represented by Habatat Galleries, Royal Oak, MI.
Click each picture for a full photo.
Closed Vessel 3 H59, 2021; 8 x 14 x 14 inches; laminated, polished glass
Ellipsoid2 H30, 2017; 11 x 11 x 18-7/8 inches; painted, laminated, polished glass
Closed Vessel 6 HG64, 2022; 8 x 18 x 18 inches; painted, laminated, polished glass
Green Secret Basket, 2023; 15 x 13.75 x 13.75 inches; painted, laminated, polished glass
Orange/Red Anemone, 2025; 8.25 x 8.25 x 8.25 inches; painted, laminated, polished glass
Green Annemone, 2024; 8.75 x 8.75 x 8.75 inches; cut, painted, glued, polished glass
Transmutation: Still 1, Still 2, Still 3, 2021; each 8.75 x 8.75 x 8.75 inches; painted, glued, polished, float glass
Green Annemone 2, 2024; 8.75 x 8.75 x 8.75 inches; cut, painted, glued, polished glass
.T.S.B.B., 2018; 8.25 x 8.25 x 8.25 inches; painted, laminated, polished glass
w.t.s.b.b. H38, 2018; 11 x 11 inches; optifloat, painted, laminated, polished glass
Wilfried Grootens 2025
Artist Statement:
The creative process in my work is composed of:
- TIME - Time to develop and rethink.
- SPACE - A quiet space for realization of my ideas.
- MATERIAL - Choice of material and its handling.
With my glass painting I fill transparent, geometric spaces whose visual explorations produce surprising variations in forms. Different perspectives on apparent spherical floating built-up forms of linear brush strokes reveal to the viewer new perspectives within the object's space.
About Wilfried Grootens 2025
Glass artist Wilfred Grootens was born in 1954 in Uedem, a small town in the German countryside near the Dutch border. At age 15, he began training as a glass and porcelain painter with Hein Derix in the nearby town of Kevelaer, where he apprenticed for four years.
In 1973, Grootens began an eight-year journey of discovery, traveling through Asia, South and Central America, and the Middle East. He also received a technical diploma in design, worked as a freelance artist for several studios, and focused on a self-taught pursuit of music.
In 1981, Grootens moved to Munich and over the next seven years he participated in recording music with the German bands Embryo and Dissidenten, groups known for their avant-garde approach to a style of music coined the "world beat movement." It was during this period of the 1980s that he also revisited his glass work and began the first experiments that would lead to his career as an artist working in glass. In 1988, he received a Master Craftsman's Diploma in Munich, and in 1989 he moved to Kleve, Germany and opened his own studio.
Grootens' current glass work uses the optical float technique. He paints on layers of glass, making thousands of very fine brush strokes of varying tones, then assembles the glass layers in stacks, laminating them together to create cube and other geometric forms. The forms are cut and polished to perfection.
Acknowledgment of Gallery:
We are grateful to the Habatat Galleries, Royal Oak, Michigan, for providing the Artist of the Month.
The Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass (AACG) is a not-for-profit organization and leading resource for glass collectors, art enthusiasts, artists, gallerists, museum personnel, and educators on all things related to glass art. AACG provides a collaborative place for robust conversations about glass art, including its production, techniques, and trends. We also encourage and support the glass community through annual grants and artist scholarships.
