Martin Kaldahl
Born 1954. Ceramist with a Master’s Degree from the Royal College of Art in London from 1990.
Photo: Danish Crafts 2009 /jeppegudmundsen.com
STARSHOT IMPLOSION. Starshot Implosion is a complex ceramic object, a form encounter between a segment of a tree branch and a dynamic digital form based on a simple star. The object's expression was achieved by linking a digitally generated form with a certain visible figurative reference to a cast of a natural component (a segment of a tree branch). With a humoristic/absurd undertone, the resulting form expression postulates a connection between a natural archetype and the geometrically based pop universe of the digital form, unfolding its potential meanings in this field of tension.
"My objects arise through ongoing experimentation, digital as well as analogue, and operate in a field where there is no specific narrative.
Only the potential for one - depending how the individual visual elements come together in the beholder's mind," says Martin Bodilsen Kaldahl in reference to his own working process, which begins with a digital design that is 3D-printed in plastic, before it is shaped in plaster and cast in clay.
Over the years, Martin Bodilsen Kaldahl's works have been represented in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Danish Museum of Art & Design in Copenhagen, the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo, Röhsska Museum in Gothenburg, Musée des Arts Decoratifs in Paris and MIMA in Middlesbrough, England, among other venues.
In addition, his exhibition activities include "Det Digitale Ler" (Digital Clay) at the Danish Museum of Art & Design in Copenhagen (2008) and "END" - English/Norwegian/Danish exhibition group, ceramic exhibition at the Danish Museum of Art & Design in Copenhagen (2007).
Martin Bodilsen Kaldahl works mainly in various ceramic materials and digitally processed expressions, experimenting with objects that integrate digitally based visual universes into the physical expression.
The inspiration for Martin Bodilsen Kaldahl's works springs from a serial work process where the visual expression gradually crystallises through a long series of experiments. Ultimately, the combinations of form, ornament and image should appear simple and easy to decode while remaining open to a variety of possible content interpretations.
Photo: Danish Crafts 2009 / Dorte Krogh
