Maria Bang Espersen
Works
Biography
Layered Rock #1, 2022
Maria Bang Espersen (b. 1981, DK) is a Danish-Swedish artist living and working in Southern Sweden.
She holds an MFA from California Institute of the Arts, 2017, and has a crafts degree from The Royal
Danish Academy of Design, 2012. Prior to that, she attended a three-year glassblowing program at Kosta
School of Glass in Sweden, 2009. From 2017-19 she was a fellow at The Core Program with the Museum
of Fine Arts Houston.
Over the past ten years, Espersen has exhibited internationally at numerous institutions, including the
Smithsonian American Art Museum, US; Henry Moore Institute , UK; Houston Contemporary Craft Center,
US; Toyama Glass Art Museum, JP; and The Finnish Glass Museum, FI.
Espersen’s works are included in several museum collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum,
UK; Corning Museum of Glass, US; Rakusui-tei Art Museum and Gardens, JP; and National Museum of
Decorative Arts and design, NO.
“The making of my sculptures can be described as a sort of extreme kind of playing – the process is wild,
fun, and full of action, but the play material is a 1650F molten mass, shifting between malleable and stiff
in a matter of seconds. My rapidly made sculptures come together under two opposing forces: control and
serendipity. Traditional glass making is based on following precise rules because of the difficulty related to
the craft. I mess with that by creating objects that are made fast and without the typical tools, creating
prime conditions for me and the glass to work spontaneously together. My process clashes with the
unyielding forces of gravity and time, compelling me to free myself from my own preconditioned notions of
good form and perfect technique. I need my focus to be 100% or this delicate relation will collapse, yet I
can never fully predict the outcome and I never have complete control.” ~ Maria Bang Espersen
@maria.bang.espersen
She holds an MFA from California Institute of the Arts, 2017, and has a crafts degree from The Royal
Danish Academy of Design, 2012. Prior to that, she attended a three-year glassblowing program at Kosta
School of Glass in Sweden, 2009. From 2017-19 she was a fellow at The Core Program with the Museum
of Fine Arts Houston.
Over the past ten years, Espersen has exhibited internationally at numerous institutions, including the
Smithsonian American Art Museum, US; Henry Moore Institute , UK; Houston Contemporary Craft Center,
US; Toyama Glass Art Museum, JP; and The Finnish Glass Museum, FI.
Espersen’s works are included in several museum collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum,
UK; Corning Museum of Glass, US; Rakusui-tei Art Museum and Gardens, JP; and National Museum of
Decorative Arts and design, NO.
“The making of my sculptures can be described as a sort of extreme kind of playing – the process is wild,
fun, and full of action, but the play material is a 1650F molten mass, shifting between malleable and stiff
in a matter of seconds. My rapidly made sculptures come together under two opposing forces: control and
serendipity. Traditional glass making is based on following precise rules because of the difficulty related to
the craft. I mess with that by creating objects that are made fast and without the typical tools, creating
prime conditions for me and the glass to work spontaneously together. My process clashes with the
unyielding forces of gravity and time, compelling me to free myself from my own preconditioned notions of
good form and perfect technique. I need my focus to be 100% or this delicate relation will collapse, yet I
can never fully predict the outcome and I never have complete control.” ~ Maria Bang Espersen
@maria.bang.espersen
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