Steen Ipsen (Danish, b. 1966) is a ceramic artist living and working in Copenhagen, Denmark. Throughout his career he has explored and experimented with a myriad of themes with an emphasis on form and composition as well as spatial context. Primarily employing hand built circular, elliptical and biomorphic shapes, Ipsen’s work reveals a methodical approach combined with a dynamic chaos that is both complex and refined in structure. The sculptures comprised circular or elliptical modules are also accented with interlacing strands of PVC resulting in an optical expression of surging movement within the object. With his playful black and white Organic series, the works are intuitively created resulting in idiosyncratic undulating forms. The surface materiality of meticulously executed glazes and color further enhance each artwork for a striking graphic aesthetic. Ipsen’s sculptures exist within the sphere of Pop Art and Modernism’s organic abstraction as well as within a legacy of Scandinavian design; they are imbued with a contemplative mood and a feeling of timelessness.
Steen studied at The Royal Danish Academy, School of Design and Kolding Design School from 1984-1990, where he subsequently was Head of the Department if Ceramics and Glass from 1996-2004. He is a co-founder of the artist run exhibition platform, Copenhagen Ceramics (CC) launched in 2012, and where he continues to curate exhibitions. Steen has exhibited widely and internationally in both group and solos shows, and his work is in numerous private and public collections including MAD Museum in Paris, Clay Museum Denmark, Danish Arts Foundation and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
STEEN IPSEN
Danish, b. 1966
EDUCATION
1987-1990 Royal Danish Academy, School of Design, Copenhagen, Denmark
1984-1986 Danish School of Design, Kolding, Denmark
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022 Steen Ipsen, Galerie Provence, Vadum, Denmark
2021 Steen Ipsen, Galerie Provence, Vadum, Denmark
2020 Reflections, Galerie Provence, Vadum, Denmark
2019 Steen Ipsen, Galerie NeC, Paris, France
2016 Puls Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Steen Ipsen, Galerie NeC, Paris, France
2014 Steen Ipsen, Galerie NeC, Paris, France
Steen Ipsen, Copenhagen Ceramics, Denmark
2013 Steen Ipsen, Puls Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Cheongju International Crafts Biennale, Korea
2012 Ministry of Culture, Copenhagen, Denmark
Steen Ipsen, Galerie NeC, Hong Kong
2011 Dock 56 Gallery, Hamburg, Germany
2010 Steen Ipsen, Galerie NeC, Paris, France
2009 BN24 Gallery, Hamburg, Germany
2007 TIED-UP, Drud & Køppe Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2006 Puls Contemporary Ceramics, Brussels, Belgium
2003 Puls Contemporary Ceramics, Brussels, Belgium
2002 The Variation of Repetition, Gallery Nørby, Copenhagen Denmark
1966 New Ceramic Works, The Exhibition Room for New Ceramics, Copenhagen
1994 The Variation of Repetition, Gallery Nørby, Copenhagen
1993 Gallery Kobolt, Copenhagen, Denmark
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021 Bend, Bubble and Shine, Hostler Burrows, New York, and Los Angeles, USA
Formens Magi, Museum of Modern Art, Aalborg, Denmark
2020 Homo Faber, Fondazione Giorgio Cini, San Giorgio Maggiore Island, Venice, Italy
ESCAPING, Simard Bilodeau, Los Angeles, USA
Summertime 20 – The Annual Group Show, Gallery Christopher Egelund, Copenhagen,
Denmark
A SPACE BETWEEN, Duran Mashaal Gallery, Montreal, Canada
Spring Exhibition, Galerie Provence, Vadum, Denmark
Formes Vivantes, Musée National Adrien Dubouch, Limoges Frence
2019 Ceramic Momentum, CLAY Museum, Middlefart, Denmark
100 Years of Danish Ceramics, Sophienholm, Denmark
2018 Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France
Maison du Danemark, Paris, France
Pik’d Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon
About Clay, Fiskars Village, Finland
Galerie NeC, Paris, France
2017 Filosoffen, Odense, Denmark
2016 Crafting a Continuum: Rethinking Contemporary Craft, traveling US exhibition (2013-
2016); Houston Center of Contemporary Craft, Texas; Nora Eccles Museum of Art,
Logan, Utah; Boise Art Museum, Idaho; Bellevue Art Museum, Washington; ASU Art
Museum, Tempe, Arizona
2014 10,000 Hours, Trapholt Kunstmuseum, Kolding, Denmark
2013 40 Year Anniversary Exhibition, Sydney Opera House, Australia
Höganäs Museum och Konsthall, Sweden
Spring Exhibition, Charlottenborg Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark
NeC Gallery, Paris, France
NeC Gallery, Hong Kong
2012 Lys over Lolland, Denmark
Parliament Building, Brussels, Belgium
NeC Gallery, Paris, France
Karen Bennicke and Steen Ipsen, Copenhagen Ceramics, Denmark
2011 Living with Ceramics, Puls at Ampersand House and Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Galerie NeC, Paris, France
Extrudox A/S, Ann Linnemann Studio Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2010 It’s a Small World, Santiago, Chile
International Salon, Lacoste Gallery, USA
NeC Gallery, Paris, France
2009 It’s a Small World, Danish Design Center, Copenhagen, Denmark
Danish Ceramics, Hobro, Denmark
2008 The View from Denmark, Lacoste Gallery, Concord, Massachusetts, USA
NDC Statistics><Ceramics, Röshsska Museet, Gothenburg, Sweden
Love Your Figure, Puls Contemporary Ceramics, Bruxelles, Belgium
NDC Statistics><Ceramics, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany
Sculptural Ceramics, St. Joseph Gallery, Leeuwarden, Holland
Spring Exhibition, Charlottenburg Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark
2007 Biennale for Craft and Design, Trapholt Kunstmuseum, Kolding, Denmark
2005 Conversation Pieces, Gallery Nørby, Copenhagen
Dutch Ceramic Museum, De Tiendschuur, Holland
The International Festival of Postmodern Ceramics, Croatia
2004 From the Kilns of Denmark: Contemporary Danish Ceramics, Maison du Danemark, Paris,
France
The Nordic Embassies, Berlin, Germany
Biennale for Craft and Design, Trapholt Kunstmuseum, Kolding, Denmark
2002 From the Kilns of Denmark: Contemporary Danish Ceramics, Traveling United States
Exhibition; Museum of Art and Design, New York, New York; Mingei international
Museum, Sacramento, California; Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California;
Racine Art Museum, Wisconsin; Fitchburg Art Museum, Massachusetts
2001 New Danish Ceramics, The Danish Museum of Art & Design, Copenhagen, Denmark
1997 Table Top, The Exhibition Room for New Ceramics, Copenhagen, Denmark
Danish Ceramic Triennale, Trapholt Kunstmuseum, Kolding, Denmark
Danish Ceramics: 1850 to 1997, Sophienholm, Copenhagen, Denmark
1996 Duplika, Danish Architectural Center, Copenhagen, Denmark
1995 Talent Börse Handwerk, Munich, Germany
Contemporary Danish Design, Sophienholm, Copenhagen, Denmark
New Danish Ceramics, Ribe Museum of Art, Denmark
International Contemporary Artists in Clay, Amsterdam, Denmark
1994 Room and Rituals of Everyday Life, Den Frie Udstilling, Copenhagen
Danske Dage, Ljubljana, Slovenia
1993 Keramikkens Underskov, The Round Tower, Copenhagen
Spring Exhibition, Charlottenborg Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark
1992 XIII Biennale Internationale de Ceramique d’art, Vallauris, France
Artist’s Autumn Exhibition, Den Frie Udstilling, Copenhagen, Denmark
1991 The Danish Museum of Arts & Design, Copenhagen, Denmark
1990 Graduate Exhibition, Kolding Design School, Denmark
AWARDS
2013 Danish Arts Foundation three year working grant
2011 Annie and Otto Detlefs Foundation, Ceramic Prize
2010 Ellen and Knud Dahlhoff Larsens Foundation
2009, 12, 19 L. F. Foghts Foundation
2007 Ole Haslund Artist Foundation
Honorable Mention, 4th World Ceramic Biennale, Korea
2005 BG Foundation
1991 Applied Art Prize of 1879, Bronze Medal
The Danish Arts Foundation (1992, 93, 95, 96, 99, 01, 02, 04, 08, 10, 11, 12, 16 and 20)
The Danish National Bank Jubilee Fund (1994, 95, 03, 04, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11 and 12)
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
CLAY Museum, Denmark
Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France
Hetjens Museum, Düsseldorf, Germany
The Danish Embassy, Tokyo, Japan
Trapholt Art Museum, Denmark
The Danish Embassy, Washington DC, USA
Houston Art Collection, USA
The Danish Arts Foundation, Denmark
Höganäs Museum, Sweden
Musée de Sévres, Paris, France
ASU Art Museum, Arizona, USA
Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany
Annie and Otto Detlefs Johs. Collection, Denmark
Musée Magnelli, Vallauris, France
New Carlsberg Foundation, Denmark
Victoria & Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom
Icheon World Ceramic Center, Korea
Danish Museum of Art & Design, Copenhagen, Denmark
Danish Ceramic Museum, Middelfart, Denmark
The Danish National Police, Copenhagen, Denmark
Trapholt Art Museum, Kolding, Denmark
Art Foundation of the 14th of August
Ribe District Council, Denmark
Copenhagen Culture Foundation, Denmark
Private Collections
PROJECTS
2013 Jury member, The Biennale for Crafts and Design, Copenhagen, Denmark
2007 - 2013 Censor, Copenhagen School of Design, Denmark
2010 Co-founder, Copenhagen Ceramics, Denmark
2005 - 2007 Lecturer, Kolding School of Design, Kolding, Denmark
2005 - 2006 Censor, the Charlottenburg Spring exhibition, Denmark
2005 Censor, Bornholm Glass, and Ceramic School, Denmark
1998 Jury member, The Danish Ceramics Triennial, Trapholt Art Museum, Kolding,
Denmark
Judge, Competition: “The Future Playground”. The Danish Arts Foundation,
Copenhagen
1993 - 1996 Lecturer at Copenhagen School of Design, Denmark
1995 Designer at the Kähler Factory, Næstved, Denmark
1994-1995 Lecturer at Kolding School of Design, Denmark
MEMBERSHIPS
2017 Member of the prize committee for The Biennale for Crafts and Design,
Koldinghus, Denmark
2013-2016 Member of the board, The Danish Arts Foundation
2014 National Commissioner, Bornholm Biennial for Contemporary European Glass
and Ceramics, Denmark
2013 Jury member of The Biennale for Crafts and Design
2007-2013 Member of the board, Danish Crafts, Denmark
2005-2008 Member of the board, International Ceramic Center, Guldagergaard, Denmark
2001 Member of New Danish Ceramics, Denmark
1998 Jury member, The Danish Ceramics Triennial, Trapholt Art Museum, Kolding,
Denmark
1997-2003 Member of the committee, The National Workshops for Arts and Crafts,
Copenhagen
