Wall Plaques | C20Ceramics

Feb 9

Gunter Praschak, Knabstrup Denmark – Wall Plaques

Gunter Praschak (1940- 2015 ), Wall Plaques

Gunter Praschak was a highly accomplished ceramicist and educator, with a large body of work which is well represented in galleries in Europe and the U.S.A. /Canada.

Im a lover of 20th Century wall plaques, and I am drawn to the wall plaques by Praschack which were produced during his time at Knabstrup Pottery in Denmark. His wall plaque designs are of animals and insects, some naturalistic – but the majority are stylised and bold, and typically mid-century in their design.

Gunter’s association with Knabstrup as a ceramic designer was between 1964 – 1970. During this time he also had his own studio in Copenhagen.

From 1973 until 2004 he was head of the Ceramics Department at the University of Fine Arts in Linz, Austria . Subsequently he worked until his death in 2015 as a freelance artist in his studio in Perchtoldsdorf near Vienna.

Gunter Praschak, Knabstrup Wall Plaque (Pinterest)

Gunter was initially married to the artist Waltraud Praschak-Thalhammer (married 1968-1988) who worked also at Knabstrup (1964-1970) and some Knabstrup pieces you will find – the forms were designed by Gunter, and the pattern or design was by Waltraud. His second wife the was painter Katja Praschak.

Gunter Praschak is regarded as an important representative of modern ceramics in Austria, in addition to his work as a university lecturer who influenced and helped promote the careers of many graduates.

There is a comprehensive Wikipedia entry for Gunter Praschak HERE

There is also a wonderful Danish site which has just about every design produced by Knabstrup including these plaques by Gunter Praschak. https://knabstrup-samler.dk/13252207/

Gunter Praschak Signature Knabstrup — Gunter Praschak Signature while at Knabstrup Pottery

Jan 21

Maria Philippi – Soholm Designs

In the previous article you saw some of the fabulous studio work by Maria Philippi. This post is about her work with Soholm Pottery, Bornolm Denmark where she worked 1962-1964 as a designer.

Ejvind Nielsen Pottery, Denmark

Ejvind Nielsen 1916-1988, Denmark.

The work of Ejvind Nielsen has become highly sought after amongst collectors, and while you will find a number of pieces by Ejvind Nielsen for sale around the place, it is hard to find out much about him or his work.

What I have found is this though:

It is not clear where he had his apprenticeship – but he did spend some time in England in the 1930’s, and then in Spain as a volunteer after the Civil War.

Ejvind opened his own pottery in 1943 in Hvidovre, Denmark and it ran through until 1978 – but had enough stock to keep the shop open until the mid 1980’s. Sadly the pottery is no longer there, and a new house stands on the block.

Opening during the War meant supplies were quite short – so it seems he worked for a time at Royal Copenhagen under Thorkild Ohlsen, where he also met his wife Lizzi.

Thorkild and Lizzi took some time off for a sabbatical in 1964 in Africa, and this influenced a series of Wall plaques in addition to the other output from the pottery.

Apparently Lizzi designed the animals and the glazes were developed by Ejvind.

Below are the pieces by Ejvind Nielsen I have come across and documented.