Merete Larsen

b. 1953, Copenhagen, Denmark

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

The Danish State Art Foundation
Fond Cantonal de Decoration et d'Art de Geneve, Switzerland
Crown Prince of Denmark, Randers, Denmark
Museum of Craft and Design, New York, NY

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2005       Collectors of Wood Art Forum, Philadelphia, PA
       Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, New York, NY
2004       Solo Exhibition, Galerie Marianne Brand, Geneva, Switzerland
       Solo Exhibition, Gallerie Ægidius, Comissioned for the Crown Prince of
           Denmark, Randers, Denmark
       Selected Works, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2004-05, 07    Turned & Sculptured Wood, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2004-05   Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, New York, NY
2003-05   Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, Chicago, IL
2003       Collectors of Wood Art Forum, Santa Fe, NM
2002-03   Solo Exhibition, Museum of Danish Art
2002       Solo Exhibition, Gallerie Marianne Brand, Geneva, Switzerland
       Solo Exhibition, Museum of Decorative Art, Copenhagen
2001       Contemporary Applied Arts, London, England
2000       Merete Larsen, Solo Exhibition, Galerie Marianne Brand, Geneva, Switzerland
       Museé du Pays et Val de Charmey FR, Switzerland
2000-05   Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, New York, NY
1999-00   Turned & Sculptured Wood, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1997-00       Solo Exhibition, Gallerie Ægidius, Randers, Denmark
1999       Albertslund Kunstforening, Albertslund, Copenhagen, Denmark
       Den Gyldne Løve, Aabenraa, Denmark.
       Group Exhibition, Gallerie Ægidius, Randers, Denmark
       Herning Kunstmesse, Gallery Ægidius, Randers, Denmark
1998       Ebeltoft, Kunstforening, Denmark
       Group Exhibition, Oxford Gallery, Oxford, England
       Konsthall, Landskrona, Sweden
1997       Biennalen, Nordjyllands Kunstmuseum, Denmark
                  Den gamle by, Århus, Denmark
       Tobaksfabrikkens Påskeudstilling, Lemvig, Denmark
1996       Amtsgården, Århus, Denmark
       Censureret Udstilling, Gallerie 12, DR-TV, Århus, Denmark
       Galleri 11, DR-TV Udsendelse
       Helligåndskirken, København, Denmark
       Kulturtorvet, Farsø, Denmark
       KS-96, Kunstnernes Sommerudstilling


ARTIST'S STATEMENT

   I use local timber such as beech and sycamore, fallen one or two years previously so to get a spalted effect in the wood. When I turn, I use traditional tools and my lathe is an ordinary sturdy one. It is fitted with an additional tool rest for working on the insides of deep bowls. I turn the outside first and then I hollow it out. I place a light behind to observe the thickness of the bowl. I like to see my bowls down to about 1mm in thickness – I like to see the translucency and delicacy of the wood and I generally colour my bowls with water-based acrylics.

My interest and fascination with wood dates back to my training as a cabinet maker and furniture restorer. I have been turning bowls for the last ten years working with green wood and creating nearly translucent objects in this material.

I aim for simple, controlled shapes which contrast with the diverse patterns and textures to be found
in the wood. In the past few years I have also been exploring the use of colour and various surface
finishes, as well as the creation of incised patterns.

With an organic material like wood, I often feel that the forms and the placing of the patterns are "suggested" by the wood itself, giving rise to a kind of collaboration between the artist and the material.