SPATIAL DRAWINGS
Martin Bodilsen Kaldahl
23 August – 29 September 2018
Towards an intuitive, spatial form.
Martin Bodilsen Kaldahl's ceramic sculptures emphasize their fundamental existence in space.
This exhibition shows new wall pieces in dialogue with free-standing objects.
The pieces characteristic graphic expression is based on a simple material choice of terracotta, alternating with grey, metallic black or obtained with glazes that appear in bright colours with great texture and colour depth.
Through a formally precise elaboration of the materials, even the smallest random and insignificant movement in space is attributed importance.
With a sharp eye for the monumental in the insignificant, the artist works to create the conditions for an intuitive, spatial form.
SPATIAL DRAWINGS by Martin Bodilsen KaldahlThe motif is always clear in its simplicity.
You see what you see.
A line is a line. A point is a point.
A rhythm is a rhythm.
(Next photos: Ole Akhøj)
I am concerned with basic formal issues in my work with ceramics - the potential of the form for emotionally impacting the viewer.
How to create and retain the immediate sensation, which allows for individual experience and knowledge?
In the works, the very basic existence of the objects are investigated. How do they unfold into space - in the making, and how do they later reach out to the viewer?
With an eye for the monumental in the inconspicuous, efforts are set into creating conditions for an intuitive, spatial form. I'm trying, so to speak, to make a slow, constructed 3D doodle, where even the most banal and random spatial gesture is given special importance through a precise processing of the material.
The exhibition in Ann Linnemann Gallery displays new wall pieces in dialogue with individual free-standing objects. Some are pure sculptural lines, in which the very relationship between the wall and the object is in focus, while others rather become agglomerates of lines, paths and bits of clay pipes jointed together in a chaos principle.
KALDAHL works out of a loose overall idea, but he sets up his own obstacles to deliberately release some of the control. Let something happen by itself.
Out of volumes of small pieces of clay pipes, small pieces are built, which are later combined and grow into larger and more complex structures that move randomly, dancing, rising and falling as they rhythmically pave their way into space. It's all and nothing at the same time.The objects exist in their given form, but they might as well have looked completely different.
They are the result of a distracted perception - a pure sculptural manifestation, created as an image of the moment. But they also reflect a time dimension of their own creation, which emphasizes the relationship between the simple starting point and the very long process, and incorporates the pieces into a tradition where the careful processing is an evident prerequisite.
MARTIN BODILSEN KALDAHL (b. 1954) graduated from the Royal College of Art, London, MA 1990. COLLECTIONS Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Musée des Arts Decoratifs, Paris; Nationalmuseet, Oslo; Röhsska Museet, Göteborg; Design Museum Danmark; Trapholt Art Museum; Clay Ceramic Museum Denmark; MIMA, UK. EXHIBITIONS Galleri Format, Oslo ( solo); Hot Danes, Puls Contemporary Ceramics, Bruxelles; Galleria Salvatore Lanteri, Milan; Sarah Myerscough Gallery, London; Céramiques, Galerie NeC, Paris ( solo); MarsdenWoo Gallery, London; Danish Design at the House, Sydney Opera House; Contemporary British Studio Ceramics, Mint Museum, North Carolina, US; Mindcraft 09, Milan; Design Museum Denmark. TEACHER Danish Royal Art Academy Design School. External Examiner, Royal College of Art, London 2015-18. Co-manager of Copenhagen Ceramics since 2011. Grateful thanks to The Danish Art Foundation for project funding in 2018.
