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.
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
