Modern Relics, a solo exhibition by Kristian Jon Larsen, presented by Format Artspace in Copenhagen.
Opening 8/10, 12-15.
The exhibition period is 8/10-19/11.
In my practice working with ceramics and steel, it gives me the opportunity to showcase the battle between the artists trying to control the material and the material being the stronger force.
Ceramics is a very common material used every day by every one. But when you use traditional techniques, like the Raku firing, you can pull it right out of the cupboard and up on to a pedestal of culture and craftsmanship refined for centuries. When I then place all that on a piece of plywood, I pull it down again and make it accessible. Hopefully somewhere in all that you can find the tension and some kind of pull and release rhythm making it all dance
Like old time carpenters who used to go to the woods to choose the right tree for the right chair, I choose sheets of steel with a past, scars, marks and signs of interactions. I attempt to contain and domesticate the steel, seeking simplicity in basic shapes. In that way the material can play the lead role and present it self to the viewer naked and ready for emotional encounters.