puls 10 years on

Bente Hansen was born in 1943 in Copenhagen, Denmark. She was trained as a ceramist at the School of Arts, Crafts and Design, where she was a student of Richard Kjærgaard, who inspired a whole generation of talented and successful ceramists, like Bodil Manz, Ursula Munch-Petersen and Alev Siesbye. In 1985, together with Malene Müllertz, Beate Andersen, Jane Reumert and Bodil Manz a.o., Bente Hansen co-founded the distinguished exhibition group Keramiske Veje (literally, ceramic roads), which still exists and had its last show in Copenhagen in 2004.
For the exhibition at Puls, Bente Hansen will be showing different expressive forms that she has worked with over the years, all created with her famous salt-firing technique. First of all, there will be the so-called "meander vases", of which there will be one big unique piece and several smaller cast ones. For Hansen, these meander vases are like movement caught in air. Folded, undulating shapes, like a river that is winding through the landscape, or the wind that is causing the clouds to drift. Another group of works are the "axes". These are her latest works and they are quite imposing. They are archaic portraits, inspired by Neolithic flint axes. A third expressive form, one which Hansen also showed during her previous exhibition at Puls in 2002, is her "double pot". This is a pot surrounded by another pot, usually made from different materials. The dark void between the two pots surrounds and separates, it is emptiness. It creates the tension and is the important factor of the pots.
With this exhibition, Bente Hansen is proving how multi-faceted and unique she is as a ceramist. She has created her own expressive world, which at first sight appears unfamiliar, but nevertheless conjures up unconscious memories. Her works are full of rhythm and music, which make them a great joy to behold.