Steen Ipsen

Steen Ipsen (Danish, b. 1966) is a ceramics artist living and working in Copenhagen, Denmark. Throughout his career he has explored and experimented with a myriad of themes with an emphasis on form and composition as well as spatial context. Primarily employing hand built circular, elliptical and biomorphic shapes, Ipsen’s work reveals a methodical approach combined with a dynamic chaos that is both complex and refined in structure. The sculptures comprised circular or elliptical modules are also accented with interlacing strands of PVC resulting in an optical expression of surging movement within the object. With his playful black and white Organic series, the works are intuitively created resulting in idiosyncratic undulating forms. The surface materiality of meticulously executed glazes and color further enhance each artwork for a striking graphic aesthetic. Ipsen’s sculptures exist within the sphere of Pop Art and Modernism’s organic abstraction as well as within a legacy of Scandinavian design; they are imbued with a contemplative mood and a feeling of timelessness.

Steen studied at The Royal Danish Academy, School of Design and Kolding Design School from 1984-1990, where he subsequently was Head of the Department if Ceramics and Glass from 1996-2004. He is a co-founder of the artist run exhibition platform, Copenhagen Ceramics (CC) launched in 2012, and where he continues to curate exhibitions. Steen has exhibited widely and internationally, both group and solos shows, and his work is in numerous private and public collections including MAD Museum in Paris, Clay Museum Denmark, Danish Arts Foundation and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.