The exhibition title refers to a form of instrumental music – variation, which is based on the repetition of a single theme in different variations. The glass objects of Tora Urup, Danish designer, deliberately concentrate on a dish – especially the bowl.
The bowl is devoid of utility functions and exposed outside its traditional home environment. Thanks to our deep and ancient relationship to this object, the bowl in the gallery opens an emotional and ideological niche facilitating further visual analysis of the object.
Tora Urup works sensitively with unique properties of the material – the undisturbed clarity of the glass brings out the high surface quality (the result of high-gloss treatment, matting, or sanding). Her techniques are close to painting – she refines the surface with fine touches of powder or uses discreet earthy and natural tones to add colour to the object.
Themes and Variations narrate the story of space and glass – what is inside and what is outside, where does the space come from and what is around it and whether the invisible really exists.
Tora Urup (born 1960) is a designer specialised within the fields of glass and ceramics.
Since working with ceramics in Tokoname, Japan in 1982-83 Tora Urup studied ceramics and glass in Denmark and the UK, graduating from the RCA in London in 1994 and subsequently returning to Denmark to collaborate with Holmegaard glassworks and Royal Copenhagen porcelain.
Since 2001 she has been running her own design company and produced her designs in collaboration with highly skilled technicians in Europe nad Japan. Tora Urup’s work comprises of both design for industrial production, for smaller series and unique pieces. The work is based upon an interest in modifying simple classical types where the proces and character of the material and appearance are explored, this contributing significantly to their effect. Tora Urup has during the last ten years had a particular interest in exploring the effects obtained within a series of circular glassbowls.
Besides her own projects Urup is doing freelance design and manufacturing as well as teaching. Tora Urup’s work has been exhibited worldwide, since 2012 she has been represented by Galerie Maria Wettergren in Paris.
Anna Š. Beránková
kurátorka výstavy
Dánská designérka Tora Urup (1960) se specializuje na keramiku a sklo. S keramikou začala pracovat v japonském Tokoname v letech 1982-83. Poté se přesunula do Evropy, kde studovala keramiku a sklo v Dánsku a ve Velké Británii. Po absolutoriu RCA v Londýně v roce 1994 se vrátila do Dánska, kde zahájila spolupráci se sklárnou Holmegaard a porcelánkou Royal Copenhagen.
Od roku 2001 realizuje své návrhy ve spolupráci s vysoce kvalifikovanými řemeslníky v Evropě i Japonsku pod značkou vlastního studia. Navrhuje nejen pro průmyslovou výrobu, ale vytváří i menší designové série nebo solitérní kusy.
Ve své práci vychází ze zájmu o jednoduchý klasický tvar, pomocí drobných změn vlastností a vzhledu materiálu testuje jeho vnímání. V posledních deseti letech se zaměřuje především na zkoumání možností kruhových skleněných mís.
Tora Urup vystavuje po celém světě a od roku 2012 ji zastupuje pařížská Galerie Maria Wettergren.
