In the hands of Bertil Vallien, the message through glass is both visible and hidden. With a love for nature – with his daily walks in the woods and along the water – he has learned a great deal about how the earth tells stories. When he casts stairs in a block of glass, as in Hidden Stairs (and makes them impossible to tread), he creates something that is both real and not real. How did the stairs end up there? As if the glass had come up with the word “stairs”? Glass artistry and wizardry occasionally go hand in hand. Fortress Hidden Stairs is part of Bertil Vallien’s anniversary collection, “Bertil Vallien: 60 Years with Kosta Boda” (1963–2023), and is handmade at Kosta Glassworks in Sweden with details in real 21-karat gold.