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Biography

Yuki Ferdinandsen - Artists + Designers - Hostler Burrows

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 twenty 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, in Copenhagen and the National Museum in 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.

CV

EDUCATION
1999     The Institute for Precious Metals at the Goldsmith High School, Copenhagen, Denmark
1998     Studies in Japan
1997     Tsuibu Metal Art School, Kyoto, Japan
1989     The Institute for Precious Metals at the Goldsmith High School, Copenhagen, Denmark
1982     Tsuibu Metal Art School, Kyoto, Japan
1979     Saga Junior College of Art, Kyoto, Japan

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2017     My Hammer’s Dance, Galleri MONTAN, Copenhagen, Denmark
2012     Koldinghus Museum, Kolding, Denmark
             Arare, LOD, Stockholm, Sweden
2011     Arare, Galleri MONTAN, Copenhagen, Denmark
2007     Gallery SEIKADO, Kyoto, Japan
             The Japanese Embassy’s Culture Center, Copenhagen, Denmark
2003     The Japanese Embassy’s Culture Center, Copenhagen, Denmark
1999     The Booktrader, Copenhagen, Denmark

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021     Matter at Hand, Hostler Burrows, New York, NY & Los Angeles, CA
2020     Late Summer Exhibition, Galleri MONTAN, Copenhagen, Denmark
             Open Up, HammarClub, Schoonhoven, The Netherlands
2019     Worthy of a Queen, Copenhagen Goldsmiths’ Guild, Galleri MONTAN
             Renewal, HammarClub, Dundee Scotland. 2nd Prize
2018     Different but Same, Koldinghus Museum, Kolding, Denmark
             Afterparty, Institute of Precious Metals ,The Round tower, Copenhagen, Denmark
             Japan Return, Danish Arts Foundation at Gallery A. Petersen, Copenhagen, Denmark
             Dots, Circles, and Sphere, Gallerie HANDWERK, Munich, Germany
             Pouring Pots, Bayerischer Kunstgewerbeverein, Munich, Germany
             TEFAF Maastricht with Gallery Adrian Sassoon, Maastricht, The Netherlands
             HammarClub, Hanau, Germany
             Modern Masters, Handwerk & Design, Munich, Germany
2017     TEFAF Maastricht, Gallery Adrian Sassoon, Maastricht, The Netherlands
             MINDCRAFT17, Milan Design week, Danish Arts Foundation, Milan, Italy
             HammarClub, Pforzheim, Germany
             NOMAD Monaco, Gallery FUMI, Monaco
             Forged, Gallerie HANDWERK, Munich, Germany
             Pavilion of Art and Design London with Gallery FUMI, London, UK
2016     Danish Silversmiths 40-Year Anniversary Exhibition, Denmark
             Pavilion of Art and Design London with Gallery Adrian Sassoon, London, UK
             Masterpiece London with Gallery Adrian Sassoon, London, UK
             Gallery FUMI, Porto Cervo, Sardinia
             18th Silber Triennial, Hanau, Germany
             MINDCRAFT16, Milan Design week, Danish ArtsFoundation, Milan, Italy
             TEFAF Maastricht with Gallery Adrian Sassoon, Maastricht, The Netherlands
2015     Collect with Galleri Sebastian Schildt+, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
             Same but not the Same, Galleri Sebastian Schildt+, Sweden
2014     HammarClub Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany (3rd Prize)
             Hammered, Koldinghus Museum, Kolding, Denmark
2013     Festival of Silver, The Goldsmiths ́ Centre, London, UK
             17th Silber Triennial, Hanau, Germany
             Highlights, Galleri MONTAN, Copenhagen
             Midsummer Night, HammarClub, Museum of Decorative Arts,Trondheim, Norway
             (1st Prize)
2012     Water and Bread, Galleri MONTAN, Copenhagen, Denmark
             Craft Embracing the World, Korean Craft Museum, Korea
2011     Dedikeret Sølv, Museum at Koldinghus, Kolding, Denmark
             Lækkerier, Grønbechs Gård, Bornholm, Denmark
2010     Silver, Galleri MONTAN, Copenhagen, Denmark
             Objects of Light, HammarClub, Danish Design Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark
             (1st Prize)
2009     Kander, Galleri MONTAN, Copenhagen, Denmark
             Take Away, Galleri MONTAN, Copenhagen, Denmark
             Bordets ægte glæder, Museum at Koldinghus, Kolding, Denmark
             Collect with Galleri MONTAN, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
2008     Skattejagt, Danish Design Museum
2007     FUNC ART, Gallery Drud & Køppe, Copenhagen, Denmark
             Kunsthåndværkerprisen at 1879 (Art and Craft prize of 1879), Silver medal
2005     Japan/Denmark, Art and Craft, Dronninglund, Denmark
             Kunsthåndværkerprisen at 1879 (Art and Craft prize of 1879), Danish Design Museum,
             Copenhagen, Denmark

2004     Fannys Venner, Gallery OFFICINET, Copenhagen, Denmark
             Fannys Venner, Norway
             Gallery CREER, Kyoto, Japan
2003     Art-union “14 / 8,” Danish Design Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark
             Gallery CREER, Kyoto, Japan
2002     Gallery Raft,Tokyo, Japan
             Exhibition at GUG Group, Aalborg, Denmark
2001     The 2nd Cheongju International Craft Biennale, Korea (Silver medal)
             Gallery CREER, Kyoto, Japan
2000     Afgangsudstilling fra Institut for Ædelmetal, Copenhagen, Denmark
             Gallery YAMAMOTO, Kyoto, Japan
             Gallery CREER, Kyoto, Japan
1999     Charlottenborgs Forårsudstilling
             Gallery Paruko, Osaka, Japan
1997     Gallery Tobei, Kyoto, Japan
1996     Gallery CREER, Kyoto, Japan
             Gallery Tobei, Kyoto, Japan

COLLECTIONS
The National Museum Stockholm, Sweden
The National Museum Stockholm, Sweden
Nordenfjeldske Museum of Decorative Arts,Trondheim, Norway 2014
The Silver Museum at Koldinghus, Kolding
The Silver Museum at Koldinghus, Kolding
The Danish Arts Foundation, Copenhagen
Danish Design Museum, Copenhagen

AWARDS
2019     The Ole Haslund Artist Grant
             2nd Prize, Hammarclub, Dundee, Scotland
2015     Winner of the Schoonhoven Silver Award
2014     3rd Prize, HAMMARCLUB, Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany
2013     1st Prize, Best of the Year, HAMMERCLUB, Trondheim, Norway
2012     Silversmith of the Year, Karl Gustav Hansen Prize
2010     1st Prize, Best of the Year, HAMMERCLUB, Copenhagen
2005     Bronze Medal, Kunsthåndværkerprisen af 1879, Art and Craft prize of 1879
2001     Silver Medal, The 2nd Cheongju International Craft Biennale, Korea

 

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