Steen Ipsen

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Steen Ipsen (born 1966) is a Danish artist known for his contemporary free form ceramic work.^[1] Starting his artistic career in the 1990s he is now well known internationally and has been quoted by the Danish Arts Foundation as "one of the most gifted ceramic artists in Denmark".^[2] His work combines the clean, simplistic form of traditional Danish ceramics with bright colours, creating a new hybrid form.^[3] He generally creates his art in series, his works follow on from a common theme which is usually based on natural occurrences such as crystallisation, cell division and .^[4] Aside from his artistic career, he has also worked as a lecturer for the Danish School of Design (Copenhagen) from 1996 to 2004 teaching design basics as well as the ceramics art form.^[5]

Education and employment[]

Steen was first admitted to the Danish School of design in Copenhagen in 1984 but after changing to the Design School Kolding in 1987 he then graduated in 1990 with a degree majoring in Ceramics.^[6] The reason for this change he quoted “The School in Copenhagen was at that time aimed at the more traditional concept of ceramics such as dish-ware, vases, bowls etc. The school in Kolding offered other options and there was a focus on contemporary and ”.^[7]

Works (Solo)[]

Steen's work steers away from that of his traditional ceramic background. Traditional Danish ceramics such as made by the Royal Copenhagen company combine stylistic and conventional forms that serve a practical purpose. Royal Copenhagen has been described as “one of the world’s most successful producers of fine dinnerware”.^[8] His work consists of organic forms that explore movement and natural processes such as crystallization, cell division and cell fusion. Throughout his career Steen has often worked within themes over periods of time, perfecting the form he is working with through practice and repetition.

Royal Copenhagen 1669

Sculpture Forms[]

Organic[]

As his earliest form, organic could be seen as a precursor to later forms such as Tied-Up. Contrary to that later form, Organic form also uses repetition of shapes and lines painted on its surface to give a visual map of its form, line and curve. Much like topography gives depth and a greater understanding of a map, these lines and shapes highlight the convexes and concaves of the work. This form displays a monochromatic glaze colour scheme which could be used as to further aid in viewing the movement of the pieces as well as making sure there is nothing (such as colour) to distract from the overall work.^[9] The lines present on these works are important as they are not featured in his later works. They provide a visual emphasis on the shape of the stoneware base. The glazes of this form can be described as “decorative ceramic expression involving both form and decoration. Decoration is integrated into the form and the form itself is spatially decorative.”^[10]

Geometric[]

Unlike most of his works, Geometric is a rigid form that doesn't appear as fluid or moveable. This form follows a path of geometric abstraction, developing further the typical geometric lines and shapes. They follow a basic rule of rectangular or line repetition. In a monochrome black glaze, the simplicity of the line as singular versus the complexity of the repetition creating the whole form is clear. Sometimes accompanied by a connected red circular form, the straight black lines of the rectangular abstraction are highlighted and contrasted.^[11] Placing the ‘free form’ circular shape next to the quadrilateral line as well as the red glaze next to the black glaze really highlight the differences in the forms. Here in this work Steen is expanding the geometric universe mimicking the repetitions in nature but with an industrialist twist.

Bubbles[]

The Bubble series is possibly a more naturalistic take on the spherical form that Ipsen is so accustomed to. Much like the result of blowing through a straw into a milkshake, the free form variety has bubbles that are arranged in clumps and ranging in sizes from small to large. Whilst more naturalistic than his other forms, they are however arranged meticulously so that a sense of depth and intended form can be perceived. Referencing his design education some variations of this style include vases, bowls and plates that are fashioned out of the bubbles, showing convergence in practical and aesthetic design. This is a common trope throughout Danish design.^[12] The Glazes in this series are bright, coloured and come in a wide array of colours.

Spikes[]

Similar to the bubble series, the ‘spikes’ are a naturalistic form that bears a likeness to a living creature, like a sea urchin for example. These forms were created around 2005-2007 where steen "broke with the traditional understanding of classical forms and made a radical change to a more informal expression".^[13] Using bright colours he intended to provoke the imagination of the viewer, extending their perspective of the natural world and perceiving it in new and bright ways. This series is a marker point for when he started to shift away from more traditional forms and into a more organic free-form expression.

Tied-Up[]

Steen's most explored form consists of repeated spherical arrangements moulded together and then ‘tied up’ with strings of PVC or leather. This form, considered by many to be his signature work style, having worked with it consistently since 2007, it is an investigation into the formal structure and repeated natural occurrences.^[14] His art-making practice consists of making his own plaster moulds from which the clay balls are formed. Then joining multiple balls together a more wholistic clay structure is made. then, after the clay has dried, Steen then sands the clay until it is completely smooth. Lastly the process of glazing and firing multiple times at very high temperatures so that the colour is even and satisfactory. The result of these efforts is an exploration into form and movement, highlighting the convex and concave curves of the pieces. Steen quotes that “Many years of experience with more rigorous hand modelling of objects has given me the desire to work with a spontaneous, playful, and easy freehand technique. An initial sketch of the scenario helps me to minimize the distance between the idea and the finished object.”^[15] Steen explains his intentions behind the work as “to show the contrast to the shape of the object and how I can change the movement of the sculpture while also emphasizing a strong graphical expression”.^[16]

Collaborative work[]

In 2011 Steen made a series of works titled “Extrudox A/S” in collaboration with fellow Danish ceramicist Anne Tophøj. This work focussed on new techniques of shaping clay with the example of the extruder. Using this machine meant that the clay was heated and could be pulled in one continuous profile (in forms such piping or tubing).^[17] Together they experimented with this new way of creating, which resulted in a variety of differently shaped and coloured forms. In their statement for their exhibition at the Ann Linnemann Gallery in Copenhagen, they said “Extruding… is a here-and-now technique, where objects are finished in taste tempo as they come out of the extruder”.^[18]

Extrudox A/S[]

‘Extrudox’ a collaboration work between steen Ipsen and Anne Tophoj focused on the form a ceramics as a result of using a tool called an extruder. This machine is often used to create pipes and hollow metal forms for construction. By working with this machine Anne described the ceramic forms as being “finished in the same tempo as they come out of the extruder”.^[19] This technique would be described and free and mechanically organic. Compared to much of steen's other work this collaboration is much less perfected and time-consuming. As soon as the clay comes out of the extruder it is already a fully formed and ‘completed’ object, all that is left if to glaze and fired it. Also, whilst steen doesn't often use machines to create his current works like ‘Tied-Up’ this work is very different from anything else he has done.

Public collections[]

Steen's work has been collected by many galleries internationally and different works are kept in public collections all over the globe. His work is included in the following galleries’ collections:^[20]

• Houston City Collection (USA)
• Arizona Art Museum (USA)
• The Victoria and Albert Museum (London, England)
• Museum of Art and Design (Hamburg, Germany)
• Museé des Arts Décoratifs (Paris, France)
• Museé de Sèvres (Paris, France)
• Museé Magnelli (Vallauris, France)
• Incheon World Ceramic Centre (South Korea)
• The Danish Arts Foundation (Copenhagen, Denmark)
• New Carlsberg Foundation (Denmark)
• Plus, most likely many others.

Notable exhibitions[]

From the early 90s, Steen has been a part of a great number of exhibitions, both as an individual and as a part of a group. These exhibitions have been in Denmark as well as internationally, such as the Cheongju International Crafts Biennale in Korea in 2013 and multiple ceramics Biennales which feature artists from all over the world.^[21]

• 1997: 2nd Danish Ceramic Triennale at The Trapholt Art Museum, Kolding
• 2004: Sculpture, Objects and Functional Art (SOFA), Chicago USA Gallery Nørby
• 2007: The 4th World Ceramic Biennale, held in South Korea
• 2008: Sculpture, Objects and Functional Art (SOFA), New York, Drud & Køppe
• 2009: Saatchi Gallery, London, England
• 2009: Mindcraft 09 Gallery, Milano, Italy
• 2010: International Salon, Lacoste Gallery USA
• 2010: The Curitiba Design Biennale Brazil
• 2012: NeC Gallery, Hong Kong
• 2012: Displayed in the Parliament in Brussels
• 2013: Cheongiu International Crafts Biennale, Invited to exhibit in the Main Exhibition, South Korea
• 2013: Biennale in Grand Palais with NeC Galler, Paris
• 2014: Sydney Opera House, 40th Anniversary (group)
• 2014: Copenhagen Ceramics, Denmark
• 2014-2015: Lakeside Art, Nottingham, England
• 2014 & 2016: Galerie NeC Nilsson et Chiglien, Paris
• 2015 & 2016: Art Paris, Grand Palais with NeC Gallery
• 2016: Puls Gallery, in Brussels
• 2018: Collect, London with Gallery Format, in Oslo
• 2019: 2 solo shows in Galarie NeC Nilsson et Chiglien, Paris
• 2019: Art Paris, with NeC Gallery, Paris

Prizes[]

• 1991: Applied Art Prize of 1879, Bronze Medal^[22]
• 1995: Pre-Qualified for the competition: “Ceramics for Everyday Use: Danish Arts Foundation^[22]
• 2007: Won Honourable Mention in the 4th World Ceramic Biennale, South Korea^[22]
• 2011: Annie and Otto Detlefs Foundation, The Big Ceramic Prize, Copenhagen^[22]
• 2013-2015 (active): Danish Arts Foundation, 3 years Working Grant^[22]

References[]