CLICK ON IMAGE = LARGE FORMAT and slide show
BEHOLD Exhibition 5 – 28 July 2012
Lots of containers - in good shape!
The vessel form is admired and defamed – loved and idolized... but also called traditional and dull. - Is it retro or old fashion? - Is it wonderful and mythical?
- Does it contain hidden messages, political statements?
- Is it Craft, Art&Craft, Fine Art?.. What does it contain? - concepts, contexts?
In Danish, the title 'BEHOLD' has various meanings:
- the short form: BEHOLD = keep, retain, hold on to!
- the noun: BEHOLDER = container, vessel; keeper, owner, collector
– the verb: BEHOLDE = to keep, retain, hold, have, remember...
- the Danish sentence: I GOD BEHOLD = in good form, safe and sound :-)
Danish and international artists – who work in clay – show and share their visual ideas of the 'Beholder', - each accompanied with a single sentence statement.
It is a lively exhibition, in which the artists express their personal idea of the 'beholder' - the vessel, jar, container...
Visitors have this great opportunity to behold a large number of ceramic forms, made by more than 30 professional artists.
It is a 'study exhibition', that can be 'read', but also a unique collection of contemporary ceramic art pieces, that the viewer can behold, hold, hold on to, - and buy to hold their own personal vision.
The 'Beholder' is roomy and conveys endless questions and answers.
Does the enrichment entirely appear from aesthetic beauty, form fullness, tactual sensation? - Does it only talk about itself? - Does it hold an artistic expression of our time? - Is it a contemporary art form? - Does it hold up, keep up? - Does it hold water? (Danish pun meaning: is it true/real/honest?) – What does it hold?
Must the 'Beholder' be thrown around, broken, closed, perforated, transformed, - until it makes a 'loud enough noise' – just to wake up somebody?
- Or might it precisely be made so to describe … what must be shouted?
Can the Vessel still come out with a new story, that simply must be told – in its own form and space?
Why do many ceramicists still choose to work from the vessel form, cylinders, containers?
Is the ceramic vessel seen as a present time-typical art form, a roomy art object, a sculpture, - or is it seen as a metaphor with the context of the history of the material, the tradition of the form, the relationship to the human body – as a container of life?
Are ceramicists entirely interested in material, form, decoration, function and tradition?
Have they decided to weigh the function of the form, do they also look at the essential notion of form, or do they primarily consider the materials tactility, the depth of the colours, the story of the form, the meaning of the motives?
Is the vessel always completely innocent, cosy and nice to hold?
Is the vessel a roomy sculptural object, like a dear child, who can evoke memories and echoes for most people all over the world – A worldly cultural gathering point, that has been passed on from hand to hand, as something collectively recognizable? - Is the container an unconscious memory of the wonderful meal – from stone age to present time – nurturing, life reassuring and delightful?
Can we compare 5000-year old jars with the present time vessels and feel our ancestors touch passed on throughout the hurried development of technology and industry?
Can we in the form of the 'beholder' feel the beginning of civilisation, a guide mark of gravity and earthy importance? - Does it portray a basic human need for the rounded and roomy, which we can gather around? – a united remembrance - a fertility symbol?
Why keep this art form alive, when it only has a small and specialized audience?
After the Danish pottery apprenticeship has closed, the Art&Craft schools have become academic design educations, and even the renowned Danish KunstIndustryMuseum is renamed the Danish Design Museum, - is there any foundation for still working out of the roots of a traditional craft? - Is the vessel a sentimental copy of an antiquated life-style? - Is the 'beholder' so invisible and quiet, that it can not keep up with the speed of times, desire for news and publicity value?
- What are we going to do with it? - Does it have value?
- What is it nowadays anyway? - BEHOLD!!
There is not a single-minded answer at this exhibition; but the 'Beholders' will talk..
EXHIBITORS: Anne Fløche, Ann Linnemann, Beate Andersen, Bodil Manz, Charlotte Thorup, Christina Schou Christensen, Esben Klemann, Gerd Hiort Petersen, Gunhild Aaberg, Hans Munck Andersen, Hans Vangsø, Heidi Hentze, Helle Hove, Jakob Stig Isaksen, Jane Reumert, Karen Harsbo, Kim Holm, Lis Ehrenreich, Lisbeth Holst-Jensen, Lone Skov Madsen, Louise Birch, Malene Müllertz, Marianne Krumbach, Marianne Nielsen, Morten Løbner Espersen, Martin Bodilsen Kaldahl, Mette Marie Ørsted, Ninna Gøtzsche, Sten Lykke Madsen, Sandra Davolio, Turi Heisselberg Pedersen... internationale: Akio Takamori/USA-J, Kurt Weiser/USA, Paul Scott/UK, Kirsten Coelho, Prue Venable, Stephen Bowers/AU.
