Lucy Lacoste Gallery

Lucy Lacoste Gallery opens “Danish Women in Contemporary Ceramics”

Barbro Aberg, Black Bodhi Tree. CONCORD, MASS.- Lucy Lacoste Gallery will close the 2020 season with an all-female exhibition: Danish Women in Contemporary Ceramics, December 12th – January 5th, highlighting the leading role women have played in the development of ceramics there. This exhibition features the work of Beate Andersen, Anne Floche, Mette Maya Gregersen, Bente Skjøttgaard, Charlotte Thorup, Barbro Åberg, and Gunhild Aaberg, artists in varying stages of their careers, aa of whom have received international recognition through exhibition. Why have women taken such a leading role in Danish Ceramics, in contrast to other societies? Denmark, a country with an abundance of clay, has a long history of ceramics going back to the Vikings. Ceramic creativity has been fostered by the manufactories such as Royal Copenhagen which hired female artists as designers and gave them studio space to freely create their own work. The country’s affinity for the Arts and Crafts movement of the early 20th century was conducive to female artists setting up independent studios. In addition, there were teachers who encouraged individual expression in ceramics. Creative art pottery began to develop at the end of the 19th century. Today, the most recognized ceramic artists in Denmark are women. The two leading Danish ceramicists of the 20th century were Gertrude Vasegaard and Gutte Eriksen. Vasegaard’s abstraction of the cylinder and minimal decoration became a touchstone for a whole stream of Danish ceramics. Gutte Eriiksen’s approach was free, organic, and often inspired by Japan. She taught so many women throughout her career, they became known as “Gutte’s Girls.” These two renowned artists have been followed by legendary female artists such as Bodil Manz, the most recognized ceramic artist from Denmark, known for paper thin cylinders with handmade decal decoration; Alev Ebuzziya Siesbye, celebrated for vessels of pure color with an unglazed line; and Nina Hole, the creator of burning fire sculptures, founder of the Clay Today collective, the CLAY Museum of Ceramic Art and the International Ceramics Research Center at Guldagergaard. Lacoste Gallery has a long history with Danish ceramics beginning with our 2007 exhibition of the collection of William…