Egeværk
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BIOGRAPHY
Mette Bentzen and Lasse Kristensen, known collectively as Egeværk, create meticulously made sculptural pieces, while drawing on craft traditions dating back generations in Danish fine furniture. Kristensen (1985) and Bentzen (1978) were both trained at the esteemed PP Furniture, a Danish joinery established in 1953 and famous for its large portfolio of modern Danish furniture. They are the recipients of a number of prestigious awards and accolades, including the 2019 Snedkerprisen (the Danish Carpentry Award). In 2020, their work was selected for the Danish Pavilion in Tokyo during the Olympic Games and they were the Winners of the Arts & Craft Category of the Design Award in Denmark. Their work has also featured in numerous international artfairs, including our award winning Material Shores booth for Design Miami 2022.The ICE series, a significant design project initiated with the gallery in 2019, is the result of a major body of practical research and design development. The concept originated from Egeværk’s deep-rooted connection to the landscape in their native homeland and neighbouring countries, specifically the harsh winter icescapes of Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The artists sought to capture the fluid aesthetics of ice in their opposingly solid medium of Danish Ash wood.
For months the artists transported huge blocks of ice to their studio to study the melting process under natural and controlled conditions. They examined its unhurried dissolve during moderate spring temperatures and the summer heatwave; they also manipulated the blocks by placing them under dripping water or drilling holes straight into the ice to stimulate the thawing process. Placed shoulder to shoulder in the workshop or on the harbour front, these blocks were carefully catalogued in photographs and used as inspiration in a series of carved maquettes. The final large-scale furniture pieces are the result of a slow and thoughtful process of making; they embody the language of ice in form and texture, achieved through Egeværk’s gentle and refined carving techniques.
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WORKS
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EgeværkICE Bench, 2021Danish ash
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EgeværkIce Shape Black IV, 2020Danish Ash
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EgeværkIce Shape Black VII, 2021Black stained Danish Ash
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EgeværkICE Shape no 16, 2022Danish Ash
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EgeværkICE Shape no 15, 2022Danish Ash
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EgeværkICE Shape 12, 2021Danish Ash
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EgeværkIce Shape I, 2020Danish Ash
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EgeværkICE Installation of 5 stools, 2022Hand carved ash wood
Available for commission. -
EgeværkSuspended Forest, 2021Oak, softened and torn to flexible threads
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EgeværkIce Series Table, 2019Danish Ash
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Installation Shots
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STORIES