Steen Ipsen (1966) is a Danish artist and teacher who works with ceramics. He generally creates his art in series, often based on natural occurrences such as crystallisation, cell division and cell fission.
Steen was first admitted to the Danish School of design in Copenhagen in 1984 but changed to the Design School Kolding in 1987. He then graduated in 1990 with a degree majoring in Ceramics.
In 2014 he had a solo exhibition at Copenhagen Ceramics, showing a series called Organic. In 2016 he exhibited his work in Paris.
In 2011, Steen made a series of works titled “Extrudox A/S” in collaboration with fellow Danish ceramicist Anne Tophøj. This work focused 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 as piping or tubing). 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”.
Steen Ipsen creates freeform sculptures that combine repetitive organic shapes; though they appear streamlined and industrial, Steen’s sculptures are the product of laborious manual craftsmanship. Ipsen studied ceramics at the Design School Kolding and began his career making works related to traditional Danish ceramics; he became more experimental around 2005 and added bolder colors or elements like spikes to his work. He became best known for his “Tied Up” series of colorful monochrome orbs bound with strips of leather and PVC, as in Ellipse 22 (2019). To create these sculptures, Ipsen molds clay using plaster forms, then joins the bulbous forms into a cluster. Once dried, he sands the works down to a polished surface and glazes, reglazes, and fires them several times to produce a highly lacquered sheen. Solo exhibitions of his work have been held in Montreal, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Cheongju, and Hong Kong.
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| Steen Ipsen |
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| Vessel, 1990 |
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| Sketches of Modular system, 1990 |
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| Vessel, 1993 |
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| Pape, 1994 |
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| Vessels, 1994 |
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| Green Series, 1997 |
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| Vessels, 1997 |
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| Danish National Police, 1998 |
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| Vessels, 2002-05 |
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| Bowl, 2003 |
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| Vessel, 2005 |
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| Tied-Up 5, 2007 |
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| Tied-Up 23, 2008 |
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| Snow White IV, 2009 |
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| Twilight Grey, 2009 |
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| Black Red Geometric 2, 2012 |
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| Tied-Up 8, 2012 |
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| Tied-Up 12, 2012. |
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| Organic Movement 17, 2014. |
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| Organic Movement 1, 2015. |
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| Ellipse 7, 2019 |
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| Organic Movement 5, 2020 |
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| Ellipse 3, 2021 |
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| Tied-Up 7, 2021 |
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| Ellipse 22, 2022. Red glazed Earthenware |
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| Organic Movement 1, 2023 |
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| Dark Blue Organic Movement, 2024 |
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| Ellipse 7, 2024. Dark blue glazed Earthenware |
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| Ellipse, 2024. Yellow glazed Earthenware |
A sensual and subtil work. A long time ago, I knew a beautiful and sensual young lady who was a good ceramist. Souvenirs, souvenirs...
ReplyDeleteGreat blog.