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© Ole Akhøj
© Ole Akhøj
© Ole Akhøj
© Ole Akhøj

Mariko Wada

Mariko Wada Ceramicist
Contact
English, Danish, Japanese
Hours:
By appointment only
Phone:
+45 28554529
© Ole Akhøj

Led by the unique nature of clay

  • • Mariko's works have won multiple prizes from the Danish Arts Foundation
  • • She studied in both Japan and Denmark
  • • She provides guided tours and lectures in her studio

Transcendent creatures belonging to another world, ineffable ghost-like shapes, objects with no boundaries... Mariko Wada’s artworks tell many stories to those who want to listen. The Japanese artisan, based in Denmark since 1998, pushes the material to the extreme, challenging herself and exploring new ways of expressing herself through ceramics. She integrates elements of Japanese and Scandinavian design traditions, while adding something mysterious in the way she responds to the unexpected behaviour of clay. After obtaining a master’s degree at the Design School Kolding, in Denmark, she opened her own studio in 2009.

Read the full interview

Works

  • © Ole Akhøj
  • © Ole Akhøj
  • © Ole Akhøj
  • © Ole Akhøj
  • © Ole Akhøj
Photo: © Ole Akhøj
Torso I

This brown stoneware sculpture is part of Mariko’s “Torso” series, which, through the sculptural forms, explores and expresses the fragmented shape and structures of the human body. The sculpture combines two techniques – extrusion and handcrafting – and is finished with sinter engobe.

Height 58 cm
Width 38 cm
Diameter 38 cm

Photo: © Ole Akhøj
Sequences

This red-toned stoneware sculpture is part of Mariko’s “Sequences” series. The work explores notions of dynamic design, as well as the viewer’s experience of time. The pieces in the series are made by combining extrusion and hand-crafting techniques, which helped Mariko visualise dynamic and continuous movement of form.

Height 20 cm
Width 45 cm
Diameter 26 cm

Photo: © Ole Akhøj
Bear

This handcrafted, spherical stoneware sculpture is shaped in the form of a polar bear’s head and finished with beige terra sigillata.

Height 44 cm
Width 65 cm
Diameter 55 cm

Photo: © Ole Akhøj
Dark Secrets

The surface of this handcrafted stoneware and terra sigillata sculptural form has been bound with leather cord, creating clearly indented divisions in the clay. It was intended as an imaginary object to ward off bad or negative thoughts and prevent them from dominating the mind.

Height 52 cm
Width 27 cm
Diameter 27 cm

Photo: © Ole Akhøj
Terra Morphologia #2

This is an early work from Mariko’s Terra Morphologia series, which explores organic softness to create forms evocative of the body’s internal organs. The blue sculptural form was handcrafted.

Height 40 cm
Width 68 cm
Diameter 33 cm

Enjoy an experience with Mariko Wada

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