As you enter this glassblowing studio in Austria's Vienna, the heat greets you like it’s a living thing. The furnace burning over 1,000 degrees, its mouth glowing orange much like a small sun. The glassblower, Robert Comploj, dips a rod into the molten glass, gathers a dripping glob, rolls it on a steel table, and meticulously lifts it close to his lips. A long, pulsing exhale follows and the lump expands with reflections of the flames itself. Soon, what was once molten glass lava and fire, cools into a sphere, a vase, or even a paperweight—as if the glassblower breathed not air, but life into the glass.
Glassblowing, once a popular craft in Italy's Venice, now survives in glass artist Comploj’s modest studio in the heart of Vienna’s 18th district. The old Venetian craft which began in the 1st century BC was popular in exports across the Roman Empire. But later in the 13th century, fearing fires in Venice's dense wooden quarters, the glass furnaces moved to Murano Island, Italy. Murano’s iconic glassmakers created mirrors, chandeliers, and goblets so fine they were traded like jewels across Europe. It was here that the craft reached its peak.
Today, that same tradition is alive in Vienna, but in a modern studio. Robert Comploj, who started as a carpenter, first encountered glass as a student in Kramsach, Austria, where he attended a glass design school. “I saw the whole process of blowing glass, and knew that I wanted to learn this,” he says. He went on to attend glass blowing classes at Corning Museum of Glass in New York, held by renowned Murano master glassblower Elio Quarisa.
In 2017, he founded Studio Comploj, a hybrid workshop and gallery in Vienna where centuries-old Venetian techniques meet Scandinavian minimalism. “Glass teaches you humility,” he says. “You can’t control it completely. You have to work with the fire, not against it.”
Behind a glass storefront, the glow of the furnace illuminates shelves filled with his creations: jewel-toned vases, sculptural vessels, and delicate carafes. Comploj describes his process as a balance between chaos and control. “You have to move quickly, but calmly.The glass has its own timing; when it works, your breath becomes part of the object.”
Colour is a vital piece of the blown glass puzzle, and Comploj is inspired by nature and the shifting seasons. Deep blues, smoky greys, and translucent greens dominate the palette, which also include hazy lilacs and vivid oranges.
His studio is set apart by its openness. Visitors can book a class, step up to the furnace, and experience the craft firsthand. Under careful guidance, they gather a blob of molten glass, turn it on the pontil rod, and blow their first bubble, an experience that seems part art, part meditation.
In a district popular for textile and furniture workshops, Comploj’s studio is reviving a dying craft, giving it a new life with his contemporary designs. The studio has become a community space, a place where locals and travellers come not just to buy objects, but to witness the act of breathing life into every glass object.