Brit Dyrnes (born 16 April 1955) is a Norwegian artisan who has worked mainly as a

ceramist Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take forms including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is one of the visual arts. Whil ...

. After completing her education at the

State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart The State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart (German: Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart) is a university in Stuttgart, Germany. Founded on 25 June 1761, and located since 1946 on the Weißenhof, the Academy, whose historical sig ...

, she ran a workshop in Esslingen until 1982. She then returned to Norway where she has worked in Trondheim and Surnadal. Though her involvement in several pertinent organizations, in recent years she has motivated activity in arts and crafts in Norway and beyond. In 2019, she received the honorary award from Norske Kunsthåndverkere (NK, the Norwegian association for arts and crafts).

Early life

Born in Trondheim on 16 April 1955, Brit Dyrnes was educated at Trondheim's art school Kunstskolen (1972), the

Trondheim Academy of Fine Art Trondheim Academy of Fine Art is a department of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, Norway responsible for Bachelor degree, Bachelor and Master degree, Master education within fine art. Located at a separate camp ...

(1974–78) and the Fine Arts Academy in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

(1978–79).

Career

On completing her education in Stuttgart, she opened a workshop in nearby Esslingen which she ran from 1979 to 1982. She then returned to Norway where has worked since 1982, first in her workshop in Trondheim and since 2019 in Kvenna Kunstverksted, Surnadal, where she has her own studio. Her work is difficult to classify as she moves from one style to another, sometimes inspired by tradition, sometimes experimenting with her own imagination, as for her ''Rode vaser'' (Red Vases, 2001), a collection of 25 vases on white plates arranged five side by side and five from top to bottom. While she has principally worked with clay, inspired by the work of

Antoni Gaudí Antoni Gaudí i Cornet (; ; 25 June 1852 – 10 June 1926) was a Catalan architect from Spain known as the greatest exponent of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's works have a highly individualized, ''sui generis'' style. Most are located in Barcel ...

in 1984 she began to work with brick. Dyrnes's work has benefited from her collaboration with a number of artists and craftsman, including the sculptor Erland Leirdal (born 1964), the landscape architect Christine Gjermo (born 1961) and the photographer Arild Juul. She has emphasized how important it is for her to support and strengthen the role of Norwegian artisans. In this connection she has been a driving force in a number of organizations, including Norske Kunsthåndverkere (serving as regional leader for central Norway), and as a board member of Trøndelag Centre for Contemporary Art and Ytre Art School in Ålesund.

Awards

As a result of her efforts, Brit Dyrnes received the for 2019.

References

External links

Brit Dyrnes's website
mainly Norwegian with summary in English {{DEFAULTSORT:Dyrnes, Brit 1955 births Living people People from Trondheim Norwegian ceramists Norwegian women ceramists 20th-century Norwegian artists 20th-century Norwegian women artists 20th-century ceramists 21st-century Norwegian artists 21st-century Norwegian women artists 21st-century ceramists Norwegian expatriates in Germany