Bente Hansen

Lessons in geometry

8 April – 18 May 2017

 

Bente Hansen ceramic - Danish ceramic - exhibition Bente Hansen - Bente Hansen gallery

Bente Hansen. Sans titre 2015, gres,h. 44 x 24 x 19.5 cm. Photo Ole Akhøj

On the occasion of its twentieth anniversary, the Galerie de l’Ancienne Poste wishes to present some major figures in European ceramic arts. Danish ceramic artist Bente Hansen, who has inspired generations of contemporary artists and designers, opens up the season by presenting about thirty new pieces.

Bente Hansen’s works are a thoughtful reflection on geometry and colour. The artist glazes her wheel-thrown stoneware pots before applying coloured transfers in many layers, each layer requiring a new firing. Although her shapes remain simple, the application of colours tends to create a subtle balance between form and expression. The predominantly gold, silver and copper decorations of the pieces displayed reveal an elaborate construction where transparency effects create a depth, allowing us to retrace the different steps of the work’s “life”.

Bente Hansen lives and works in Copenhagen. Her work is exhibited in prestigious institutions throughout the world such as London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, Stockholm’s National museum, US Palmer Museum or Düsseldorf’s Hetjens Ceramic Museum. She has received wide acclaim and numerous awards for her work and has been granted the Danish Design Award repeatedly. Bente Hansen is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics.

I am wondering […] how my formal universe keeps repeating itself in ever-new mutations. Might they be new answers to old questions? […] In my works I wish to surprise, to seduce. However, first of all I wish to liberate my visions of form and colours and the indelicacies of the imagination. As with poems of Jens August Schade (Danish poet, 1920 -1978) on the seductiveness of art, we let ourselves be seduced – by the beauty of the erotic – by the electrifying touch.”
Bente Hansen
Interview with Myriam Boutoulle, Journalist, Art Critic – From the catalogue

Bente Hansen’s works