VietnamNews: Danish artist joins capital’s community ceramics project

Pot luck: Danish ceramist Michael Geertsen works on his project in Bat Trang village. — File Photo

HA NOI (31-03-2009) — The 6km-long ceramic mosaic that will adorn the Yen Phu Dyke on the banks of the Hong (Red) River will serve as a tribute to the colourful journey that the capital city has taken over the past millennium. Danish ceramist Michael Geertsen has joined the project with his own 50m ceramic mural located on the slope in front of Hang Than Street...

"It’s an excellent community art project and I don’t want to miss an opportunity to test my ability with such a big ceramic work. And it’s also an excellent occasion to leave my artistic stamp in a country with a long tradition of making ceramics and to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Ha Noi in 2010," Geertsen said.

Michael Geertsen and Nguyen Thu Thuy at the Bat Trang's studio

To create his murals first Geertsen makes ceramic vases, bowls and plates of all shapes and sizes. Then he cuts them into geometric shapes – arcs, circles and cylinders – which he combines to create his works.

"My ceramic works are alternative – installed simple geometric parts. In my works, what interests me is the meeting between the familiar object and the sculpture. Having an origin in basic shapes, my pottery works relate to classical pottery. I believe the objects, which can be used or displayed in daily life, can reveal contemporary spirit," he said.

"In Denmark and in Northern Europe in general, traditional craft villages like Bat Trang don’t exist anymore. Here, each family has a workshop and they live at the workshop; it’s paradise. In Europe, pottery is made only in factories."

Geertsen was born in 1966. He graduated from the Danish School of Art and Design with a degree in ceramics and glass in 1991 and from Denmark’s Designskole (Institute for Industrial Design ) in 1993. Now he has his own workshop in Copenhagen and his award-winning work has been displayed in New York, London, Denmark, South Korea and China.

Vietnamese and foreign artists will work together on the Ha Noi Ceramic Mosaic Mural Project to celebrate the 1,000 year anniversary of Thang Long-Ha Noi.

The ceramic mural will feature different sections, which retrace historical periods of Viet Nam, including a section for the history of Viet Nam, contemporary Ha Noi painters, one for international artists and one for Vietnamese and international children’s art.

Geertsen’s work will be located next to the mural by French artist Dominique de Miscault.

In early April, Danish Ambassador to Viet Nam Peter Lysolt Hansen is expected to visit and inaugurate this mural. — VNS

Source: VietnamNews

http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=01ART310309