Artist Uses a Hammer to Meticulously Create Gorgeous Shattered Glass Portraits

Swiss artist Simon Berger creates absolutely gorgeous portraits with just a hammer and a pane of laminated safety glass. He strikes strategic blows upon the delicate surface to capture the subject’s face, profile, or shape with incredible precision. This specific art has taken Berger a great deal of time to develop with a great deal of trial and error involved.

Art Insider spoke with the artist about his unique process.

I kind of like it when there’s some abstract touch to it, so for the first blow I really hit it with a great deal of force so the glass cracks across the whole surface like a spider web. I like that. Once the glass is weakened, you can work relatively controlled. …I’m using a lot of glass but every now and then one turns out good.

Hammered Glass Portraits

Here’s a fascinating timelapse of Berger demonstrating his craft at the Street Art Fest Grenoble-Alpes 2020.

via The Awesomer

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.

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