Annika Elisabeth Berglund, Triptych – Cradling 2010

Artwork

The Cradling series of work was centred around the importance of the senses and instinct in how we relate to the world. The abdomen is the centre for so much feeling and experience. Hunger for food and pleasure stirs us there, while fear and anxiety makes it clench and ache. It is the home for so much of our non-rational being, and also the site for the growth of future generations. The abdomen is held and cradled by the pelvis and this formed the starting point for a series of shallow vessels. The hand-built vessels took form in a searching way in a dialogue with the material. A rough shape was slowly refined towards a final form that that only became clear as the work progressed. There was often a period in the middle of the making process where the piece seemed like a failure that should be rejected, before more work finally revealed a form that worked, that had tension and grace. Their main aim was to appeal to the senses, with rough and smooth textures, soft curves and pierced holes with thick and thin sections. Some pieces were further black fired in a saggar firing. The project evolved to include work in glass and bronze, further exploring the language of materials and their different appeal to the senses.

Artist

Swedish-born artist Annika Elisabeth Berglund had her first solo exhibition in 2006 and won the Crafts Council's price for Best Craft in the Garden at Bloom 2008. She won the NUI Art and Design Prize 2010 and the Hungry Hill Gallery Award 2011. A year as Artist in Residence in NCAD culminated in a solo show Materiality in the Olivier Cornet Gallery. Her work appeared at Vue, Ireland’s National Contemporary Art Fair in 2015 ,2016 and 2017, and she was invited to show work at the First Latvia International Ceramics Biennale 2016.

http://www.annikaberglund.com/