Marianne Nielsen (b. 1971, Denmark) sculpts delicate ceramic arrangements, which expose the synthetic and psychological aspects of the natural world. Through the lens of botany and a naturalist approach, she produces an herbarium of gestural forms that preserve the liveliness of plants. In reexamining the still life genre, her works evoke the ephemeral forms of overgrown spaces, crystalizing transient and fleeting moments.
Nielsen’s subjects are found throughout nature as well as the decorative arts: in textile patterns, architectural elements, and the general abstracting of form across vernacular craft traditions. As a result, many of her works improvise on the basic format of vase, plate, or decorative dish. At other times, the artist isolates botanical scenarios and chance compositions from field and forest through the slow and detailed observation of her surroundings. Hers is an attention which aims not to simply comprehend the whole but to see each petal, stamen, burl, and stem for its rudimentary elements. Looking at Nielsen’s porcelain and stoneware sculptures, one finds an articulation of the vast taxonomy of natural forms nested within and alongside human culture.
Nielsen graduated from the Design School Kolding in the department of ceramics and glass. Her work has been exhibited at the CLAY Museum of Ceramic Art, the Vejen Art Museum, the Biennale for Craft & Design in Copenhagen, and the Nordic Craft Pavilion at the Grand Palais in Paris. She is a recipient of the Annie & Otto Johannes Detlefs Ceramics Prize, the Danish Arts Foundation Award, the Danish Crafts Award, the Danish National Bank Jubilee Fund of 1968, and the Ole Haslund Foundation Grant. Nielsen’s works are in the collections of the CLAY Museum of Ceramic Art, Middelfart, Denmark; the Designmuseum Danmark, Copenhagen, Denmark; and the Vejen Art Museum, Vejen, Denmark.
MARIANNE NIELSEN
b. 1971, Denmark
EDUCATION
1999
Graduation from the Design School Kolding, Kolding, Denmark
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2026
Intelligent Artifice, Independent Art Fair, Hostler Burrows x HB381, New York, NY
2024
Leaf, stem, twig, HB381, New York, NY
2019
Marianne Nielsen, Design Square Gallery, Kolding, Denmark
2017
Flower Vase, Ann Linnemann Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
Modelleret, Glaseret Stentøj (Pinched, Glazed Stoneware), Bagsværd Church, Bagsværd, Denmark
2014
Lunch of the Green, Butik for Borddækning, Copenhagen, Denmark
2003
Galleri Nørby, Copenhagen, Denmark
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023
The Language of Ceramics, CLAY Museum of Ceramic Art, Middelfart, Denmark
2022
Can You Hear Me, Galeria FAB, Tirana, Albania
City and Country, Peach Corner Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
Repetition, Galerie Pi, Copenhagen, Denmark
2021
Bend, Bubble and Shine: Copenhagen Ceramics at Hostler Burrows, Hostler Burrows, New York, NY, and Los Angeles, CA, USA
Nature: Traces and Reflections, CLAY Museum of Ceramic Art, Middelfart, Denmark
2020
Shiftings, Galerie Pi, Copenhagen, Denmark
2019
Ceramic Momentum, CLAY Museum of Ceramic Art Denmark, Middelfart, Denmark
2018
Planted, Galerie Pi, Copenhagen, Denmark
2017
Flower Power, Vejen Art Museum, Denmark
Grand Designs – Clever Hands, CLAY Museum of Ceramic Art Denmark, Middelfart, Denmark
The Biennale for Craft & Design: Liquid Life, Copenhagen, Denmark
New York Ceramics & Glass Fair, New York, NY, USA
2016
Copenhagen Ceramics Invites, Galleria Salvatore Lanteri, Milan, Italy
Danish Arts and Crafts, Galerie für Angewandte Kunst, Munich, Germany
Danish Contemporary, Lacoste Gallery, Concord, MA, USA
Hairy Matters, PLADS Artspace, Aarhus, Denmark
2015
Homeliness, Private Flat, Copenhagen, Denmark
Magic Language, Game of Whispers, The Nordic Craft Pavilion at Révélations, Grand Palais, Paris, France
Biennale Internationale Design, Saint-Etienne, France
2014
Céramique 14, Paris, France
Meeting Beauty, Ann Linnemann Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
Mindcraft14, Milan Design Week, Italy
Three Days in Paris, Galerie Maria Lund, Paris, France
2013
Écrits, Mythes, et Legendes: 17ème edition de la Biennale Internationale de Céramique, Châteauroux, France
Squander, Gallery Pagter, Kolding, Denmark
Terres: Copenhagen Ceramics Invites, Galerie Maria Lund, Paris, France
The Biennale for Craft & Design, Rundetaarn, Copenhagen, Denmark
Chi Chi Potter, Copenhagen, Denmark
2012
Behold, Ann Linnemann Studio Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
Elitist Folklore, Copenhagen Ceramics, Copenhagen, Denmark
Mechanic Picnic, Lunchmoney Gallery, Aarhus, Denmark
2011
Martin Bodilsen Kaldahl Invites, Puls Contemporary Ceramics, Brussels, Belgium
The Biennale for Craft & Design, Koldinghus, Kolding, Denmark
Wild and Vigorous, Ann Linnemann Studio Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2010
Across, Ny Tap, Carlsberg District, Copenhagen, Denmark
Contrast, Ann Linnemann Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
The Cultivated Nature, CLAY Museum of Ceramic Art, Middelfart, Denmark
Designer Zoo, Copenhagen, Denmark
2009
Spring Exhibition, Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, Denmark
The Cobra Room, Sophienholm Kunsthal, Lyngby, Denmark
Nicolai, Kolding, Denmark
2008
Nothing to Display, Koppe Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
Blås & Knåda, Stockholm, Sweden
2007
Ceramics in Kolding, Koldinghus, Kolding, Denmark
The Biennale for Craft & Design, Trapholt Museum for Modern Art and Design, Kolding, Denmark
2006
Ceramics Above Ground, Blås & Knåda, Stockholm, Sweden
Damascus – Copenhagen, The Danish Institute, Damascus, Syria
Home from Damascus, Galleri Nørby, Copenhagen, Denmark
Wofür Brennen Wir, Künstlerhaus 188, Halle, Germany
2005
Conversation Pieces, Galleri Nørby, Copenhagen, Denmark
2004
Ceramics Below Ground, Bunker DG 177, Copenhagen, Denmark
Stuff: Ingenuity and Critique, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, Canada
2003
Western, Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, Denmark
2002
Ambiente-fair, Frankfurt, Germany
Summer Exhibition, Galleri Nørby, Copenhagen, Denmark
Tableware, Museum of International Ceramic Art, Grimmerhus, Middelfart, Denmark
The Tradition of the Future: Innovation in Everyday Life, Maison du Danemark, Paris, France
Visite: Danish and German Ceramics, Banegaarden Kunst & Kultur, Aabenraa, Denmark
2001
Ambiente-fair, Frankfurt, Germany
Christmas Plaque, Museum for Decorative Arts, Copenhagen, Denmark
Happy Christmas Clay, Puls Contemporary Ceramics, Brussels, Belgium
New Nordic Ceramics, Gallery Nørby, Copenhagen, Denmark
2000
Ceramics without Precedent, Udstillingssted for Ny Keramik, Copenhagen, Denmark
Challenges, Trapholt Museum for Modern Art and Design, Kolding, Denmark
Challenges, Royal Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Danish Porcelain 1775–2000, Museum for Decorative Arts, Copenhagen, Denmark
Kunstnernes Efterårsudstilling Den Frie, Copenhagen, Denmark
Summer Exhibition, Galleri Nørby, Copenhagen, Denmark
Talente, Handwerkskammer, Munich, Germany
The Danish Wave, Traveling Exhibition: Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Qingdao, Dalian, Nanjing, Wuhan, and Chengdu, China
1999
Christmas Exhibition, Galleri Nørby, Copenhagen, Denmark
Design School Kolding Diploma Exhibition, Design School Kolding, Denmark
Design School Kolding Diploma Exhibition, Edison, Copenhagen, Denmark
1998
Design Projects, Museum for Decorative Arts, Copenhagen, Denmark
Fast Forward, Hordaland Kunstcenter, Bergen, Norway
1997
Brick Furnitures, Trapholt Museum for Modern Art and Design, Kolding, Denmark
Young Designers Award, SNBA Nacional de Belas-Artes, Lisbon, Portugal
AWARDS
The Danish Arts Foundation
Annie and Otto Johs. Detlefs Ceramics Prize & Travel Grant
The Danish National Bank Jubilee Fund of 1968
Ole Haslund Foundation Travel Grant
Danish Crafts
COLLECTIONS
CLAY Museum of Ceramic Art, Middelfart, Denmark
Vejen Art Museum, Denmark
Designmuseum Danmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
