Yuki Ferdinandsen is a metalsmith artist living and working in Denmark, whose refined minimalist works embody the aesthetics and traditional craftsmanship of her native Japan as distilled through a Danish lens. Working primarily in silver, she draws inspiration from nature, in particular the spirals of the Fibonacci sequence. Ferdinandsen’s work demonstrates a profound relationship to her material; the organic forms are articulated with rhythmic patterns created using the arare technique, by which raised dots emerge through multiple strikes of a chasing hammer. Approximately 20 taps are required to produce each bead-like protrusion, and the meditative and repetitive nature of the process imbues her works with an ethereal quality.
A subtle and nuanced play of light and shadow also emerges on the textured surfaces of the vessels, complemented by a semi-matte, whitened silvery finish achieved through an acid solution bath. Ferdinandsen describes her process in this way,“Every sound in the rhythm of my ‘hammer’s dance’ I feel in the whole of my body and enjoy within my soul. This is work that never suffers from fatigue.”
Ferdinandsen studied at the Saga Junior College of Art, and the Tsuibu Metal Art School, both in Kyoto, Japan. She has exhibited throughout Japan, Scandinavia and Europe, and her work has been placed in significant private and public collections including the Danish Design Museum, Copenhagen, and The National Museum, Stockholm. She was the recipient of the 2015 Schoonhoven Silver Award, and has been recognized with numerous other awards and grants over the course of the past two decades.
EDUCATION
1977 – 79 Saga Junior College of Art, Kyoto, Japan
1981 – 82 Tsuibu Metal Art School, Kyoto
1988 – 89 The Institute for Precious Metals at the Goldsmith High School, Copenhagen
1993 – 97 Tsuibu Metal Art School, Kyoto
1997 – 99 The Institute for Precious Metals at the Goldsmith High School, Copenhagen
1998 Studies in Japan
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
1996 Gallery Tobei, Kyoto, Japan
1997 Gallery Tobei, Kyoto, Japan
1996 Gallery CREER, Kyoto, Japan
1999 Gallery Paruko, Osaka, Japan
1999 Solo exhibition: The Booktrader, Copenhagen
1999 Charlottenborgs Forårsudstilling
2000 Gallery CREER, Kyoto, Japan
2000 Gallery YAMAMOTO, Kyoto, Japan
2000 Afgangsudstilling fra Institut for Ædelmetal, Copenhagen
2001 Gallery CREER, Kyoto, Japan
2001 The 2nd Cheongju International Craft Biennale, Korea. Silver Medal
2002 Exhibition at GUG group, Aalborg
2002 Gallery Raft, Tokyo, Japan
2003 Gallery CREER, Kyoto, Japan
2003 Solo exhibition, The Japanese embassy’s Culturecenter, Copenhagen
2003 Art-union “14 / 8”, Danish Design Museum, Copenhagen
2004 Gallery CREER, Kyoto, Japan
2004 ”Fannys venner” group exhibition, Norway
2004 ”Fannys venner” group exhibition, gallery OFFICINET, Copenhagen
2005 ”Kunsthåndværkerprisen af 1879” Danish Design Museum, Copenhagen
2005 Exhibition “Japan/Denmark, Art and Craft”, Dronninglund (Denmark)
2007 Solo exhibition at the Japanese embassy’s Culturecenter, Copenhagen.
2007 Solo exhibition at Gallery SEIKADO, Kyoto, Japan
2007 “Kunsthåndværkerprisen at 1879” Art and Craft prize of 1879, silver medal
2007 “FUNC ART” Gallery Drud & Køppe. Copenhagen
2008 ”Skattejagt” Danish Design Museum,
2009 Collect, Galleri MONTAN, Saatchi Gallery, London
2009 “Bordets ægte glæder,” Museum at Koldinghus
2009 ”Take Away,” Galleri MONTAN, Copenhagen
2009 “Kander,” Galleri MONTAN, Copenhagen
2010 HammarClub, “Objects of Light,” Danish Design Museum, Copenhagen, 1st Prize
2010 “Silver,” Galleri MONTAN, Copenhagen
2011 “Lækkerier,” Grønbechs Gård, Bornholm
2011 “Dedikeret Sølv,” Museum at Koldinghus
2011 ”Arare,” Solo Exhibition, Galleri MONTAN, Copenhagen
2012 “Craft Embracing the World,” Korean Craft Museum, Korea
2012 “Water and Bread,” Galleri MONTAN, Copenhagen
2012 “Arare,” soloe xhibition at LOD, Stockholm, Sweden
2012 Solo exhibition at Koldinghus Museum, Denmark
2013 HammarClub, “Midsummer Night,” Museum of Decorative Arts, Trondheim, Norway, 1st Prize
2013 “Highlights” Galleri MONTAN, Copenhagen
2013 17th Silber Triennial, Hanau, Germany
2013 “Festival of Silver,” The Goldsmiths ́ Centre, London, England
2014 “Hammered”, Koldinghus Museum, Denmark
2014 HammarClub Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany, 3rd Prize
2015 “Same but not the Same,” Galleri Sebastian Schildt+, Sweden
2015 Collect, Galleri Sebastian Schildt+, Saatchi Gallery, London
2016 TEFAF, Maastricht, Gallery Adrian Sassoon.
2016 “MINDCRAFT16” Milan Design week, Danish ArtsFoundation
2016 18th Silber Triennial, Hanau, Germany
2016 Gallery FUMI, at Porto Cervo, Sardinia.
2016 “Masterpiece”, London, Gallery Adrian Sassoon
2016 Pavilion of Art and Design, London, Gallery Adrian Sassoon
2016 Danish Silversmiths 40-Years anniversary Exhibition, Denmark
2017 TEFAF, Maastricht, Gallery Adrian Sassoon
2017 “MINDCRAFT17” Milan Design week, Danish Arts Foundation
2017 HammarClub, Pforzheim, Germany
2017 “NOMAD” Monaco, Gallery FUMI
2017 “Forged” Gallerie HANDWERK, Munich
2017 Pavilion of Art and Design, London, Gallery FUMI
2017 “My Hammer ́s Dance,” solo Exhibition Galleri MONTAN, Copenhagen
2018 “Modern Masters”, Handwerk & Design, Munich
2018 TEFAF, Maastricht. Gallery Adrian Sassoon HammarClub Hanau, Germany
2018 “Pouring Pots”, Bayerischer Kunstgewerbeverein, Munich
2018 “Dots, Circles and Sphere”, Gallerie HANDWERK, Munich
2018 “Japan Return,” Danish Arts Foundation at Gallery A. Petersen, Copenhagen
2018 “Afterparty,” Institute of Precious Metals ,The Round tower, Copenhagen
2018 “Different but Same,” Koldinghus Museum, Kolding
2019 “Renewal,” HammarClub, Dundee Scotland. 2nd Prize
2019 “Worthy of a Queen,” Copenhagen Goldsmiths ́Guild. At Galleri MONTAN
2020 “Open Up,” HammarClub, Schoonhoven, Netherland
2020 “Late Summer Exhibition,” Galleri MONTAN, Copenhagen, Denmark
COLLECTIONS
2009 Danish Design Museum, Copenhagen
2011 The Danish Arts Foundation, Copenhagen
2011, 2012 The Silver Museum at Koldinghus, Kolding
2013 Nordenfjeldske Museum of Decorative Arts, Trondheim, Norway
2014 The National Museum Stockholm, Sweden
2015 The National Museum Stockholm, Sweden
AWARDS
2001 The 2nd Cheongju International Craft Biennale, Korea. Silver Medal
2005 ”Kunsthåndværkerprisen af 1879” Art and Craft prize of 1879, Bronze Medal
2010 1st Prize,Best of the Year, HAMMERCLUB 2010, Copenhagen
2012 Karl Gustav Hansen Prize, “Silversmith of the Year”
2013 1st Prize, Best of the Year, HAMMERCLUB 2013, Trondheim, Norway
2014 3rd Prize, HAMMARCLUB 2014, Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany
2015 Winner of the Schoonhoven Silver Award
2019 2nd Prize, Hammarclub , Dundee, Scotland
2019 The Ole Haslund ́s Artist Grant
