Lucie Rie & Gertrud Vasegaard at Erskine, Hall & Coe, London

Lucie Rie & Gertrud Vasegaard is on view at Erskine, Hall & Coe, London

September 1-23, 2021

Erskine, Hall & Coe are delighted to present Lucie Rie & Gertrud Vasegaard, an exhibition of works by two of the great 20th century artists working in clay.

“A ceramic bowl can constitute an optical and physical praise of the world – a homage to the heart of existence. One bowl by Rie or Vasegaard can express more than it means, as if it were the sum of all bowls.” — Professor Henning Jørgensen

Born in Vienna in 1902, Lucie Rie escaped to London as a refugee and established her own studio in Albion Mews in the late 1930s. Renowned for her delicate and simple, yet elegant vases and bowls, she became one of Britain’s greatest modern potters and the recipient of many awards for her outstanding achievements in ceramics.

Gertrud Vasegaard was born in Rønne on the Danish island of Bornholm in 1913. Having been brought up in a family of potters, she and her sister, Lisbeth Hjorth (Munch-Petersen) were the first producers of studio ceramics in Denmark. Vasegaard used a soothing palette of glazes on her works, which are distinguished by their unique combination of simplicity and richness. Recognised for her contribution to ceramics, Vasegaard is included in the Danish cultural canon and represented by a number of international public collections.

Bringing together over thirty works by Rie and Vasegaard, this exhibition offers a unique opportunity to admire the styles that have had an enduring influence on British and Danish ceramic art. Jørgensen wrote that “when viewing the work of these two modern artists, we encounter the warmth of fired earth and a simple philosophy behind it: that of love and beauty.”

A catalogue accompanying the exhibition features an essay written by Jørgensen, an art critic and art historian based in Denmark, and author of the definitive monograph on Gertrud Vasegaard published in 2011. We are grateful for his generous help in making this exhibition possible.

Contact
+44 (0) 20 7491 1706
mail@ehc.art

Erskine, Hall & Coe
15 Royal Arcade,
28 Old Bond Street,
London, W1S 4SP

Full photo captions:

First photo
Left: Lucie Rie, Vase, c. 1955, stoneware, 20.5 cm high.
Middle: Lucie Rie, Small bowl, c. 1970, stoneware, 6 cm high.
Right: Gertrud Vasegaard, Tall, white vase with brown ornamentation, 1993, stoneware, 20 cm high.

Second photo
Left: Gertrud Vasegaard, Grey and white bowl with brown and black ornamentation, 1970s, stoneware, 12 cm high.
Right: Lucie Rie, Bowl, c. 1960, porcelain, 14.5 cm high.

Third photo
Left: Lucie Rie, Bottle with flaring lip, 1970s porcelain and golden manganese glaze, 24.1 cm high.
Right: Gertrud Vasegaard, Bottle with stopper, 1940s, stoneware, 15 cm high.

Fourth photo
Left: Lucie Rie, Knitted bowl, c. 1980 stoneware, 9.5 cm high.
Right: Gertrud Vasegaard, Conical white and grey bowl with blue strokes, 1970s, stoneware, 7 cm high.

Installation photography by Andy Stagg. Studio photography by Stuart Burford. Images Courtesy of Erskine, Hall & Coe