ARTIST PROFILE
René Olsen (b. 1977) is a Danish multidisciplinary artist with a background in ceramics and visual art. He works with drawing, sculpture, ceramics, experimental film, projection, sound, 3D and VR. His practice encompasses physical works as well as digital and virtual forms.
His work develops through an exploration of materials, media and the ideas specific to each project. The choice of form responds to what a work sets out to investigate and how it can be experienced. A drawing, an object, a film sequence or a virtual space may develop as an independent work or become part of a larger whole.
Across these media, Olsen is interested in the relationship between form, space and sensory experience. His experience of ceramics and sculpture provides a grounding in materials and making that also informs his work with moving images, sound and digital spaces. His practice allows for sustained engagement with craft as well as experimentation with different techniques.
Themes develop within each work or project. Nature’s micro- and macrostructures, geology and the cosmos are examples of starting points for exploring transformation and perception. An interest in working in collaboration with nature opens up questions about how natural processes can participate in shaping a work. Climate, the relationship between humans and their environment, and encounters between art and science offer further sources of inspiration, alongside imagined worlds, parallel realities and consciousness. These strands form part of an open practice in which different bodies of work can have their own questions and references.
Olsen trained in Ceramic Design at Design School Kolding. His work has been exhibited internationally, and in 2011 he received the Bronze Prize at the Gyeonggi International Ceramic Biennale in South Korea.
creativehoover@gmail.com · +45 60 71 61 26
reneolsen.dk · creativehoover.com
ART MERCH · Creative Hoover ↗
Member of BKF – Danish Union of Visual Artists
EDUCATION
2000–2005 Design School Kolding, Ceramic Design, Denmark
2004 Funen Art Academy, Denmark
1997–2000 Den Frie Ungdomsuddannelse, Denmark
Aarhus Art School, Denmark
1998 Studies in ceramics and geology, Crete, Greece
AWARD
2011 Bronze Prize, Gyeonggi International Ceramic Biennale, South Korea
FESTIVAL AND RESIDENCY
2026 Work selected for SALT International Art Festival, Poland
2016 Montreal Underground Film Festival (MUFF), Canada
2011 Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Japan – artist in residence
COLLECTION AND REPRESENTATION
2011 Icheon World Ceramic Center, South Korea
Grimmerhus – Museum of Ceramic Art, Denmark
JURIED EXHIBITIONS
2007, 2004 Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition, Denmark
2007 Artists’ Easter Exhibition (KP), Denmark
2005 Artists’ Autumn Exhibition (KE), Denmark
2005 VK – West Zealand Juried Exhibition, Denmark
ART ASSOCIATIONS
2015 Albertslund Kunstforening, Albertslund, Denmark
2008 TV 2 Kunstforening, Odense, Denmark
2008 Holbæk Kunstforening, Holbæk, Denmark
Ebeltoft Kunstforening, Ebeltoft, Denmark
GALLERY AND MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS
2011 World Ceramic Biennale (CEBIKO), South Korea
2010 Galleri Wolfsen, Denmark
2009 August Art Gallery, London, UK
2009 National Print Museum, Dublin, Ireland
2008 Gallery PI, Copenhagen, Denmark
2008 Galleri 5000, Odense, Denmark
2007 Galleri NB, Roskilde, Denmark
2007 Galleri Frida, Blekinge, Sweden
2007 Nordic Heritage Museum, Seattle, USA
2007 Danish Immigrant Museum, Iowa, USA
2007 Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Nebraska, USA
2006 Brandts, Odense, Denmark
2006 Galleri Dageraad, Balen, Belgium
2006 Galleri Nakkehage, Copenhagen, Denmark
2006 Galleri Nakkehage, Rørvig, Denmark
2005 Funen Printmaking Workshop, Odense, Denmark
2005 Designer Zoo, Copenhagen, Denmark
2005 Dina Vejling / Dansk Kunsthåndværk, Odense, Denmark
2004 Galleri Kirkhoff, Copenhagen, Denmark
2002 Bryggergården, Faaborg, Denmark
2001 Midtfyns Kunstcenter, Denmark
2000 Filosofgangen Exhibition Building, Odense, Denmark
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2010 Dan Turèll Collection, Denmark
2007 Galleri NB (NBex), Denmark
PUBLICATION
Spor i keramikken, Rhodos
GRANTS AND FUNDING
2011, 2010, 2008 National Bank of Denmark Anniversary Foundation
2010 Danish Arts Council – travel grant
2010 Sasakawa Foundation
2009 Den Hielmstierne-Rosencroneske Stiftelse
2009 Theodor Alfred Christian von Irgens Bergh and Wife’s Artist Grant
2008 Georg Harms Foundation
2008 The Bielke Grants