In the shadows - Pål Roland Janssen

Pål Roland Janssen is a Norwegian glass artist working primarily with hot-sculpted glass. He runs the Glass Workshop at Frysja in Oslo, where he combines studio practice with public engagement and teaching. Janssen’s work is rooted in the physical discipline of glassblowing, developed through years of workshop-based learning, collaboration, and international study.
His practice moves between functional objects and sculptural forms, often merging techniques to create surfaces that invite touch as much as observation. Transparency, density, and subtle shifts in form are central elements, allowing the material to hold both presence and restraint.
In recent work, including the series In the Shadows, Janssen explores the relationship between visibility and invisibility. Human-like figures emerge through minimal gestures and quiet postures, opening for encounters in which the viewer’s gaze becomes part of the work—what we notice, what we overlook, and who is allowed presence. Rather than depicting individuals, the works point toward shared human conditions shaped by social structures and perception.
His work is included in the collections of the National Museum of Norway and KODE Art Museum.