Grounding

A Danish-American meeting about ‘wild clay’ and wood-fired ceramics
1 March 2024 – 1 September 2024

In this exhibition project entitled Grounding, eight ceramicists from Denmark and the USA come together to explore the fascination of ‘wild clay’, which is fired in wood-fired kilns. Across the continents, technique and materials bind the expressions together into a sensuous universe of materiality shrouded in the infinite earth and sky colours of the ash glazes.

The ceramics are given a special local anchorage, characterised by the geological composition of the clay, the nature of the wood and the firing process. During firing, the weather and the human effort of feeding the kiln with wood and controlling the oxygen supply have a decisive influence on the final result.

Ceramics made from wild clay and using traditional wood-firing methods is a technique that is particularly favoured in Japan but has also gained popularity in the US. Therefore, four Danish potters have initiated the project with the aim of exchanging knowledge and experience about the techniques used. And to investigate whether there are significant differences in working methods and in the final expressions?

The participating artist are:

From US:  Josh Copus, Zach Sierke, John Neely, Hideo Mabuchi

From Denmark: Gregory Hamilton Miller, Janne Lene Lisbeth Hieck, Anne Mette Hjortshøj, Ann-Charlotte Ohlsson

The project is supported by:
Statens Kunstfond