VIBEKE FONNESBERG SCHMIDT

Vibeke Fonnesberg Schmidt’s creative process is fueled by numerous sources of inspiration, from natural phenomena to manmade objects and structures. Her lamps in brass and acrylic contain echoes of 1960s Italian design, French Art Nouveau, and German Bauhaus modernism. The initial spark is often intuitive, springing from an unexpected source or a lucky encounters: the chromatic palette of a film, color combinations found in the cityscape, as well as geology, plant life, and the visual arts. 

A recurring interest for Fonnesberg Schmidt is geometry and its varying uses in architecture throughout history. To create her visually striking lamps, she begins with a compelling geometrical shape, which she then reiterates to construct a systematic geometric network. The next phase involves breaking up the system and its predictability by various means, for example by shifting or displacing elements, altering colors, creating overlaps, and incorporating the interplay of light. In an experimental and explorative process, she aims for a sense of harmonious disharmony, a balanced yet vibrant formal construction. Fonnesberg Schmidt creates graphic, simple, and clear works that can be seen from any angle and which invite further examination.

Fonnesberg Schmidt studied ceramics under Yoh Tanimoto in Iga, Japan, an experience which led her to pursue a degree in ceramics from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and to study at the Glasgow School of Art. Her work as a lighting designer and ceramic artist has been featured in numerous exhibitions, including at the Rörstrand Museum, Danish Architecture Center, Ceramics Museum Grimmerhus, and Kunsthal Charlottenborg, and is in the collection of the Danish Design Museum, the CLAY Museum of Ceramic Art Denmark, the New Carlsberg Foundation, and the Trapholt Museum, among others. She is the recipient of grants and awards from the Danish Art Foundation, the National Banks Jubilee Foundation, Consul Georg Jorck and Hustru Emma Jorck Foundation, King Frederik and Dronning Ingrid Foundation, the Biennale for Crafts and Design, and the Applied Art Prize of 1879.