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Hans Godo Fräbel was born in Jena, East
Germany in 1941. He was the third child in a family of five
children. The tumultuous political climate in existence after
WWII necessitated a family migration to a small city called
Wertheim in West Germany, where Fräbel's father opened a
scientific glass factory with a business partner. After moving a
few times, the family ended up in Manz am Rhein, a much larger
city in West Germany where Fräbel's father obtained a position
as a controller at the Jena Glaswerke. When Fräbel was15, his
father enrolled him into a “Lehrausbildung Program” (a
traineeship) as a scientific glassblower at the prestigious Jena
Glaswerke in Mainz, Germany. Within 3 years, Fräbel received his
“Gahilfenbrief”, an apprenticeship diploma, showing that he had
mastered the trade of scientific glass blowing. |
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In 1965, Fräbel relocated to the
United States and settled in Atlanta. He obtained a position at
the Georgia Institute of Technology in its scientific glass
blowing laboratory. He continued his art studies at Emory
University and Georgia State University.
While working at Georgia Tech, Fräbel's creative talents were
often sought after by professors and acquaintances alike to
create crystal glass sculptures as gifts for friends, partners
and business associates.
"With so many people enjoying the
beauty of his glass sculptures, Frabel felt strengthened to
continue his quest to become an artist".
Upon establishing Fräbel Studios in 1968, Fräbel set out to
follow in accordance with the European tradition of mentoring
and apprenticeships: as the Master Artist he would pass his
skills on to a handpicked group of apprentices, who after many
years of training would become master artists in their own
right. Today, eight glass artists work alongside Fräbel to carry
out the artist's vision of creating magnificent one-of-a-kind
sculptures.
"Fräbel's international breakthrough
as a glass artist occurred in 1979 when his pop art sculpture
Hammer and Nails was utilized as the feature piece of the New
Glass Art Exhibition. For the next several years, the exhibition
toured the world, visiting museums in numerous major cities.
This international exhibition was a major contributing factor in
the recognition of Hans Godo Fräbel as a founding father of
modern flamework in the world of art.
Fräbel's works of art are on display in museums in London,
Paris, Tokyo, Dresden, Valencia, Corning, San Francisco, New
York, and Washington D.C. Fräbel is in the private collections
of some of the most famous and powerful people in the world
including Past Presidents and Heads of Government Jimmy Carter,
Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton, Queen Elizabeth II,
Emperor Akihito of Japan, Fidel Castro, Mikhail Gorbachev,
Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher and Anwar Sadat. Illustrious
collectors also include Oprah Winfrey, Elton John, Larry King,
Wayne Newton, Stevie Wonder, Jane Fonda and Sting.
The Fräbel Studio is open weekdays for visitors and tours. |
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Exhibition photography courtesy
of Atlanta Botanical Garden. |
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