A bouquet can look different depending on where you stand. In his Violet series, Dutch artist and designer Marius Boekhorst places flowers behind patterned glass and builds that glass into geometric forms, creating patterned glass sculptures. The result is a still life that never settles into one image.
How the glass changes the flowers
Patterned glass usually appears in domestic windows, doors and interior partitions. It filters light and obscures views while keeping some transparency, according to designboom. Boekhorst uses that same textured surface to break apart the blooms behind it in his work.
As light passes through the textured elements, the flowers split into smaller fragments of color and shape. Petals turn into patches of orange, purple and pink. Foliage breaks into different shades of green, designboom reports. The outlines of the flowers remain visible, but the exact shape of each petal and leaf is hard to make out.
Visual Atelier 8 describes the effect of these works as pixelated. Individual details seem to separate into smaller visual elements, even though the object is entirely physical.
Glass can also turn everyday objects into light-filled art. Caution signs turned into stained-glass sculptures show the same play of colour and transparency.
Rigid geometry and living form
The tension between the glass and the plant drives the patterned glass sculptures. designboom describes the repeated pattern of the glass as a source of order, while the flowers bring irregularity and movement. Neither element overpowers the other.
Boekhorst describes the glass as a canvas and the flowers as paint. The compositions look like abstract paintings, but their depth and construction give each glass sculpture a sculptural presence, designboom notes.
The image of these pieces also depends on the viewer’s position. Visual Atelier 8 says that from some angles the flowers remain partly recognizable, while from others their forms grow ambiguous. FreeYork describes the same shift in practical terms: walk around a piece and a bouquet can resolve into an arrangement, then turn into an abstract field of color from another angle.
For another take on shifting perception, see Ane Lykke’s sculptures dancing between light and shadow, whose forms also change as you move.
Three patterned glass sculptures in the Violet series
The series includes Violet, Violet Frosted and Violet Pixel. According to The Inspiration Grid, Violet and Violet Frosted encase flowers inside glass cubes. Visual Atelier 8 calls Violet Pixel a new edition of the Violet sculpture. Each work controls how much of the flower a viewer can read.
Boekhorst has also translated the compositions into two-dimensional art prints, such as Violet Frosted – Art prints listed on his website. The prints keep the fragmented arrangements but remove the depth of the physical object.
Background and exhibitions
Boekhorst was born in the Netherlands in 1998. His practice spans art, design and fashion. His website lists eyewear design for the AMIRI Autumn-Winter 2021 runway collection and footwear design for the ETQ Amsterdam FW18 and SS19 collections.
His work has been shown at Milan Design Week, Collectible in New York and Brussels, and Matter and Shape in Paris. In 2026, he held a solo exhibition at Emanuele Catellani Contemporary in Turin, Italy.
The article first appeared in designboom’s POSTHUMAN UTOPIAS chapter, which the outlet presents with INDX|GLOBAL.
Violet raises a simple question: how much of a flower does a viewer need to see before recognizing it? Boekhorst leaves that answer to the viewer’s position, and each angle gives a different one.
Via designboom.com
Frequently asked questions
What is Marius Boekhorst’s Violet series of patterned glass sculptures?
The Violet series places flowers behind patterned glass and builds that glass into geometric forms. It includes Violet, Violet Frosted and Violet Pixel, with Violet and Violet Frosted encasing flowers inside glass cubes.
How does patterned glass change the flowers in Boekhorst’s sculptures?
As light passes through the textured glass, the flowers split into smaller fragments of color and shape, so petals look like patches of orange, purple and pink. The outlines of the flowers stay visible, but the exact shape of each petal and leaf is hard to make out.
Why does the view of Boekhorst’s glass sculptures change with position?
From some angles the flowers remain partly recognizable, while from others their forms become ambiguous. Walking around a piece can make a bouquet resolve into an arrangement or turn into an abstract field of color.
Does Boekhorst also make two-dimensional artworks from the Violet compositions?
Yes, he has translated the compositions into two-dimensional art prints, such as Violet Frosted. The prints keep the fragmented arrangements but remove the depth of the physical object.
More in
Sculpture
All Sculpture
More like this
Jake Messing's Hyperrealistic Paintings Celebrate the Abundance of Nature
Still lifes by THUSS+FARREL
Christopher Dessus Uses Radical Geometric Forms to Bridge Emotional Stories in Architectural Design
Photographer Thomas Hauser
Graham Little Paints Beauty's Surroundings, Finding It in Cracks and Blemishes
