Jan 22
I was interested to read about an important exhibition coming up first thing in 2018 featuring the work of one of my favourite Danish Potters of the 20th Century – Gutte Eriksen.
The Clay Museum in Denmark has an exhibition running 17th January to 27th May 2018 celebrating the work of Gutte, who would have been 100 years old in 2018. A summary of the exhibition translated From the Clay Museum website: Read more
Nov 27
I was very fortunate recently to find not just one, but two pieces of important Danish studio pottery by Gutte Eriksen. (read my previous post on Gutte here) The pieces were in an auction lot of assorted Danish pottery and I only recognised the first one as by Gutte – until I got them home and cleaned – as all of them were covered in years of dust and soiling. To my surprise there was a second and larger piece by Gutte which revealed itself when cleaned.
The first is a charming urn form with lid and handles standing just over 12cm tall. It has subtle cobalt blue decoration, and the textured ash and borax glaze she has become associated with. The tiny bubbles in the glaze are a characteristic of this glaze and caused by the borax content.
The second piece has a pattern around the shoulder which I have seen previously on pieces by Gutte.
Apr 18
I have been fortunate over the years to come across several pieces by important Danish studio Potter, Gutte Eriksen. Her work stands out to me due to her use of simple glazes and a limited colour palette. The clay which she mixed herself, has a characteristic Zen “earthiness” and texture.
From 1955 she worked mostly with a specific glaze, which was a combination of borax, quartz, clay and ash. The recipe for this glaze was developed by British potter Michael Gill, and developed furhter by Gutte. This glaze produced a large range of colours which were created by firing techniques of controlling oxygen, flame and kiln placement. The resulting colours were a subtle a range of blues, greys, and reddish brown, The borax used in this glaze also gives her pottery a characteristic appearance, sometimes with whitish coloured “frothing” – much like you see on Japanese “Raku” pottery. Decoration was kept simple on pieces which Gutte created, restricted to simple oxide brushwork on the glaze, and use of simple impressed repeat patterns on some pieces.
The biography information below comes from the site Galerie Beson in the U.K. which closed in 2001, but remains as an important archive for those interested in important studio pottery of the 20th Century.
Gutte Eriksen influenced a generation of Danish potters with both her work and teaching. She taught at the Jutland Academy of Fine Arts, Arhus, in 1968-71, 1973-4 and 1976-8. Her public commissions include fountains in Østre Landsret and Holstebro. In 1972 she won the Gold Medal in Faenza and in 1985 she was awarded the Thorvald Bindesbøll Medal of the Danish Academy of Fine Arts.
In 2000 she was given The Prince Eugen Medal, awarded by the Swedish Royal Family for outstanding artistic achievement. She was honoured with a major retrospective at the Vejen Kunstmuseum in 2001.
Gutte Eriksen was born in 1918 in Rødby on the island of Lolland in Denmark. She studied at the Kunsthåndvaerkskolen in Copenhagen from 1936 to 1939. In 1941 she set up a studio with two other artists in Hareskov, moving to her own studio in Kastrup the following year.
In 1948 she spent two months working with Bernard Leach in St Ives, and later that year she worked in France with Pierre Lion and Vassil Ivanoff. From 1953 she worked in her studio at Karlsminde.
The influences of Bernard Leach and the Japanese potters can be clearly seen in her work and the approach to her work. She visited Japan to work with potters there in 1970 and again in 1973.
Below are the photographs of pieces I have had by Gutte. In photo 2 you might be able to see the handle or “ear”, which is Gutte’s cypher or stamp – the letter “G”which has been mostly covered by the glaze. Other pieces she simply signed “Gutte”.
Gutte Eriksen Studio Vessel
Rorstrand Mon Amie - Cane Handled Teapot
C20Ceramics 