Mette Maya Gregersen

METTE MAYA GREGERSEN

EDUCATION
2001-2003 MA Art Psychotherapy, Sheffield University. UK 1995-1999 BA Ceramics, Camberwell College of Arts, London. UK                                                     1994-1995 Diploma Foundation Studies in Art & Design, London. UK

RESIDENCY/SYMPOSIUM
2019 The Place on CPH, Oceano, CA, US                     2018 International Academy of Ceramics Assembly, Taipei New City, T                                                              2017 Petersens Teglværk, DK 2016 Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, C                                                             2015 Yorkshire Sculpture Park, UK                             2014 Boibuchet, France                                            2013 International Ceramic Studio, Keskemet, H               2012 Cockpit Arts, London 1999-2001 St. Peters School, York, UK

EXHIBITIONS
2019 Galerie Anciennes Poste, F ASU Ceramic Museum, Particle & Wave, (touring exhibition until 2021) USA Gyeonggi International Ceramic Biennale, Korea          2018 Yingge Ceramic Museum, Taipei, T Museum Jorn, DK 2017 Galerie Terra Viva, F Kunstbygningen Vrå. DK     2016 Thalassa Museum, Cyprus Ceramic Gallery, Beijing, Ceramic Institute, C                                                 2015 The Danish Biennale of Art and Design, Copenhagen, DK International Ceramic Biennale, Haacth, B Galleri NB, Viborg, DK                                                               2014 Puls Contemporary Ceramics, Brussels, B International Triennial of Silicate Arts, Kecskemet, H Galerie Le Don du Fel, F                                                         2013 Ministry of Culture, Copenhagen, DK Ceramic Art London, The Royal College of Arts, UK                         2012 1st Satorini Biennale, G Salon Hors Serie, Ateliers D´Art, Paris, F                                                        2011 Danish Biennale of Art and Design, Koldinghus, DK

LEGATER
2009 Statens Kunstfond, arbejdslegat                        2018 Statens Kunstfond, rejselegat                           2017 Statens Kunstfond, arbejdslegat                        2015 Statens Kunstfond, projektstøtte                     2013 National Bankens Jubilæumsfond 1968, rejselegat 2012 Statens Kunstfond, rejselegat Jep Finks Mindefond for Kunst og Arkitektur, rejselegat                             2011 Danish Crafts, Udstillingslegat National Bankens Jubilæumsfond 1968                                                2010 Kunsthåndværkerprisen af 1879. Bronze Medalje Danish Crafts, Udstillingslegat

MEMBER OF
International Academy of Ceramics

By Mette Maya:
Working with clay is a necessity for me. From an early age clay has been a material that informs and reaffirms my identity. I have never felt like I belong anywhere and so the making process has become both a search for, and an escape from, my environment. I think that this is why my work has developed in two distinct directions; the result of conflicts and questions that resolve themselves in forms that embody a sense of balance and unity.  

I work in two quite different ways. One is the making of waves and the other is constructing; one is loose and wild, the other is fine and measured – similar to how I live my life, drifting off and trying to disappear and travel, in response to staying grounded and building my home.

The making process is also an investigation into social identity as I represent a small part of human behaviour. It can be a question of how our response to emotional situations changes and influences us. At the end of the day it all makes sense; a little piece of history with each piece marking a milestone from the past. They have all been a subject of change and a question of defining time. What happens in between is the inspiration. I work to find balance between what is real and imagined. Between the need to fight or flight, between swim and sink. Between my spontaneous nature and the responsibility of being an artist and a mother. 

There seem to be so many lives in a day, filled with intangible thoughts, reflected in nature. My search is for structures to connect that mind and matter. 

I love the feel of clay and the immediate response of the material, which communicates at a sensory level. I believe the senses bypass logic and provide a direct route to our inner life. I work in a territory inhabited by fleeting moments. 

When building up a piece of work, I become intensely absorbed. This intimacy leaves little room for compromise – and by that I mean that the people closest to me, my family and friends, become—temporarily—secondary to the work at hand. What is wrong with me? This sensation of absorption is clearly important but I struggle to describe it. It is as though the making process weaves itself around me, hypnotically, becoming an enveloping world, the structure and energy of which manifest from the clay itself, even though I give it physical form. This emergent ‘world’ is a dialogue, a relationship; it is intimate. 

Every form is a response to an experience. Clay transformation is an important way for me to interpret the world, to see what is truly there, to make sense. Clay is the vessel through which I navigate chaotic thoughts and unconnected impressions. My every action in clay refers back to a mental state and these gestures connect thought, hand and space. Each element investigates the other and creates a channel of communication. 

Each work is a culmination of possibilities and exists only because I make it real.