Mindcraft18 at San Simpliciano

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Mindcraft18, exhibition at San Simpliciano during Milan Designweek.
All is Flux #7 and All is Flux #8  (2018)
Photo: Julie Hering

Mindcraft18 was presented by the Danish Arts Foundation,
Curated by Ditte Hammerstrøm.

‘All is Flux’ is a radical experiment based on enlarging and highlighting the tactile properties of ceramic glaze as a manifestation of the constant state of flux that characterizes the entire physical world, even if some transformation processes are so slow as to appear imperceptible. The liquid glaze is transformed in the kiln, but the apparent permanence of its new, solid form is merely an illusion, a temporary stage. Like a tactile snapshot, the works can be seen as a single point in the lifespan of the objects – just as there was a time before their current state, there is an ‘after’. Over time, the objects will break down, dissolve and re-emerge as new physical manifestations.

The objects in the series consist entirely of thick layers of different glazes that are poured into sharply defined rectangles and kiln-fired at 1280 degrees Celsius. In the kiln the glaze melts, boils and bubbles up, the process transforming the texture and appearance of the material and blurring the edges of the rectangular shape. A sudden reduction in the temperature freezes the chemical reaction. The complex and ambiguous textures can be seen both as primordial matter and as a manmade material in the process of melting and transformation.

 

 

All is Flux #7 and All is Flux #8
198 x 98 x 5 cm. 195 x 95 x 5 cm. Several layers of different glazes.
Easels: black stained wood.
Photo: Anders Sune Berg.

 

Detail (2018)
Photo: Anders Sune Berg.

Detail, All is Flux #8
Photo: Anders Sune Berg.

Now & Here

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Now & Here, exhibition view Bagsværd Church. (2017)
All is Flux #7, All is Flux #8
198 x 98 x 5 cm. , 195 x 95 x 5 cm. The two objects consist entirely of four different glazes.
Photo: Benita Marcussen.

All is Flux #7 and  #8 was originally created for a site-specific exhibition in the iconic Bagsværd Church, designed by Jørn Utzon.

 Conventionally, the glaze, even in large sculptures, is merely a thin coating. Here, it takes on a physical format that is larger than the human body. At the same time, in an almost dizzying  dual perspective, the texture also gives the impression of a detail that has been blown up or of something seen through a microscope.

Viewed from a distance the objects appear identical, but seen up close, one is tending towards black, while the other is approaching a dark cobalt blue. The objects appear texturally complex and open to multiple interpretations: at first glance, the blackish blue, dramatically boiled textures evoke associations to lava and volcanic landscapes, but a second look reveals a glossy sheen in the glazes closer to plastic or oil, and in the fields of black there flows a cobalt blue – a colour with a long tradition in the porcelain industry.

Bagsværd Church is a fine example of Utzon’s exploration of the possibilities of modular concrete construction. The gallery is designed as a strictly modular system of concrete elements, whose dimensions are repeated in the two glaze objects. However, while the gallery has a stable materiality and is dominated by straight lines, the glaze objects by contrast, appear dissolved and organic. The dark cobalt blue glazes also link the objects to the building, referencing the cobalt blue tiles used as decorative cladding on edges in the church.

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Ultimate Impact, 5 phenomena in nordic design culture

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May 19 – July 2, 2017.
Exhibition in Rundetårn (Roundtower) Copenhagen.

A contemporary insight into 33 Nordic photographers, writers, artists, craftsmen and designer’s artistic work.
initiated by architect/curator Tina Midtgaard, Gallery Superobjekt, Copenhagen.ULTIMATE IMPACT investigates history, substance and movements in nordic design culture. The exhibition shows how crafts and design derives from a current social and cultural context. Subdivided into five phenomena, the diverse works of the exhibition, point to a number of cultural movements: Fantasy – Exoticism – Silence – Ragnarok – Baroque.

Rundetårn
Købmagergade 52A
1150 Copenhagen K.