Steen Ipsen (b.1966) was born in Naestved, Denmark. Ipsen graduated with a ceramics degree in 1990 from the Design School Kolding, ultimately settling in Copenhagen where he served as the head of the Department of Ceramics and Glass from 1996-2004.
Ipsen builds all of his sculptures by hand, without using any digital rendering or similar techniques. Form and ornament are inseparable in Steen Ipsen’s works. In his sculptures form and ornament pattern are united as an independent shaping of form. Inspired by crystalline and mineral growth, and natural processes like cell division, Ipsen’s sculptures feature repeated shapes, such as spheres and ellipses, crafted with perfectionist levels of execution. These shapes are then accented with strands of PVC, giving the works a sense of expanding, undulating motion. Existing within the legacies of Pop Art, organic abstraction, and Scandinavian design, The Danish Arts Foundation describes Ipsen as, "one of the most gifted ceramic artists in Denmark."
In 2012, Ipsen, Bente Skjøttgaard, and Martin Bodilsen Kaldahl — all active Danish ceramic artists — established and continue to direct Copenhagen Ceramics, an exhibition space dedicated to providing maximum artistic license to new experimental ideas, demonstrating the high quality and great diversity of contemporary Danish ceramics. Ipsen has participated in major exhibitions in Belgium, Brazil, Chile, China, France, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, and the USA. His work is represented in major museums and private collections worldwide including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Musée Magnelli in Vallauris, France, the Museum of Art and Design in Hamburg, Germany, Icheon World Ceramic Center in Korea, Design Museum Denmark in Copenhagen, and Trapholt Art Museum in Denmark. Renowned Danish private collections include the New Carlsberg Foundation and the Annie and Otto Detlef Collection.
