SOLID VOIDS
ART
With her Solid Voids series of objects Birgitte Due Madsen created sculptural forms that are related and respond to each other: concave and convex, spheres and squared, they play with the idea of presence and absence, positive and negative, solidity and voids. It’s rare to see plaster or gypsum used as an exhibition material but in the Danish ceramic artist’s deft hands it is a fluid expressive medium, moulded, shaped and cast, then polished to a velvety surface that begs to be touched.
“I’m really pleased to master a material that invites people to touch it. Contact with gypsum as an exhibition material is rare because it is considered worthy only as a sketching medium before a work is made in marble or other solid materials. But used as the final expression it surprises and attracts with its soft surface and deep reflections of light and shadow. It’s an almost sensual play with the laws of attraction. If you touch the object you get a more sensitive and sophisticated understanding of the craftsmanship behind it as well as the sheer beauty of the surface.”
“If one goes into the basic principles of geometry the possibilities of form are endless. I always work on a piece for a very long time, refining and refining. I trust my instincts and values. Everything has a history and is inscribed with historical contexts and classic disciplines. Making geometry expressive through sculptural form derives from looking at modernists such as Eero Saarinen and Jørn Utzon. By extracting the circular geometry in continued studies of curves I created a relational family of forms connected by a level of abstraction, as a three-dimensional geometry in the intersection between art and design.”
Solid Voids by Birgitte Due Madsen are featured in Case Study: Geometry and the Circles Portfolio in Ark Journal VOL II.
WORDS ARK JOURNAL
PHOTOGRAPHY Henriette Schou and the artist
OPEN PLAN
In 2018 Belgian architect Bruno Spaas discovered a space, an empty shell, on the top floor of a 15-storey tower building in Antwerp and with his newly founded architectural office, he initiated a capacious and free-spirited project that could serve as his future business card.
STUDIO YK
Among the greats of Finnish design, Yrjö Kukkapuro defies categorisation. He lives as he designs, with a pragmatism that never compromises on experimentation and imagination, and he is a cornerstone of contemporary Finnish design and visual culture.
CASE STUDY — INVENTIVE CRAFT
Today’s makers transcend time and space to mould their vision, imbuing objects with meaning and materiality.
SOLID VOIDS
art
With her Solid Voids series of objects Birgitte Due Madsen created sculptural forms that are related and respond to each other: concave and convex, spheres and squared, they play with the idea of presence and absence, positive and negative, solidity and voids. It’s rare to see plaster or gypsum used as an exhibition material but in the Danish ceramic artist’s deft hands it is a fluid expressive medium, moulded, shaped and cast, then polished to a velvety surface that begs to be touched.
“I’m really pleased to master a material that invites people to touch it. Contact with gypsum as an exhibition material is rare because it is considered worthy only as a sketching medium before a work is made in marble or other solid materials. But used as the final expression it surprises and attracts with its soft surface and deep reflections of light and shadow. It’s an almost sensual play with the laws of attraction. If you touch the object you get a more sensitive and sophisticated understanding of the craftsmanship behind it as well as the sheer beauty of the surface.”
“If one goes into the basic principles of geometry the possibilities of form are endless. I always work on a piece for a very long time, refining and refining. I trust my instincts and values. Everything has a history and is inscribed with historical contexts and classic disciplines. Making geometry expressive through sculptural form derives from looking at modernists such as Eero Saarinen and Jørn Utzon. By extracting the circular geometry in continued studies of curves I created a relational family of forms connected by a level of abstraction, as a three-dimensional geometry in the intersection between art and design.”
Solid Voids by Birgitte Due Madsen are featured in Case Study: Geometry and the Circles Portfolio in Ark Journal VOL II.
WORDS ARK JOURNAL
PHOTOGRAPHY Henriette Schou and the artist