Malene Hartmann Rasmussen
Malene Hartmann Rasmussen is a Danish artist working within the field of narrative figurative sculpture and installation. A recurring theme in her work is the forest and the mythological creatures that lurk in the dark woods. She weaves together notions of memories, daydreams and childhood nostalgia into a fairy-tale of her own making. Hartmann Rasmussen’s interest in the forest stems from its recurrence in European literature and myth, ancient cults, pagan rituals, and as a metaphor for the hidden realms of the unconscious mind. Comprising a number of elaborate fragments, she creates tableaux of visual excess through which she seeks to evoke an emotional response in the viewer and actuate their imagination.
Her work draws on the idea of animism; that animals and plants have a soul and that rivers, mountains and rocks, if not actually alive, are in some way sentient. She is interested in the human subconscious and strives to create a hyper-real world that addresses this gap between perception and reality. Her ornate ceramics may initially appear excessively sweet, but upon closer inspection reveal themselves as impossible and absurd objects, imbued with the artist’s own dark narrative. As a form of catharsis, the artist tries to exorcise misery, anger, and grief – as if they were demons – emotions which relate to the loss of her father and mother and the memories of a time now passed.
Overview:
Malene Hartmann Rasmussen studied at the Royal Danish Academy in her native Denmark before relocating to London and receiving an MA at Royal College of Art in 2011. She has exhibited in numerous exhibitions in the United Kingdom and abroad including at Vehbi Koç Foundation, Mesher, Turkey; Michelangelo Foundation, Italy, Fondation Bernardaud, France and CLAY Museum of Ceramic Art Denmark. In 2018 she was awarded a residency at the Victoria & Albert Museum, where she produced a body of work inspired by the oeuvre of sixteenth century French potter, Bernard Palissy. Hartmann Rasmussen lives and works in London and south-west France.
