Etiyé Dimma Poulsen (born 1968) is an Ethiopian-born Danish

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, known for her work in

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

Biography

Poulsen, who has exhibited widely in Europe, Africa and North America, lives and works in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, Belgium. Her work is held in numerous museums, including in the collection of the

National Museum of African Art The National Museum of African Art is the Smithsonian Institution's African art museum, located on the National Mall of the United States capital. Its collections include 9,000 works of traditional and contemporary African art from both Sub-S ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

. Born in Ethiopia, she moved at the age of six to Tanzania and then to Kenya with her adoptive parents. They were Danes, and moved the family to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

when she was fourteen. There she studied

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

in college and taught art in various youth programs. Initially focusing on painting landscapes using oil on canvas, her interest in creating sculpture spurred her move to France at 23 and she began working with

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

. Poulsen's figurative sculptures are often slim silhouettes colored with natural pigments. Her work takes its inspiration from traditional African art and the indigenous art of Oceania, but she emphasizes that her own varied experiences across continents are all important influences. ''"What really seduces me is the different variations of human features,"'' Poulsen remarks. ''"The more simple and sober my forms are, the more expressive they seem. If you take a close look at the

sculptures Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, you'll be surprised to find that the expressions on the faces are actually generated merely by a cracked line that traces an eye or a wrinkle....It seems as if exactly through corrosion and fragmentation, the opposite--life--emerges."''

Technique

Poulsen is most known for creating filiform ceramic sculptures. "Her technique consists of applying a thin layer of clay on an iron mesh to produce, when fired, worn-out looking ‘primitive’ figures. The cracks that occur form an eye or a wrinkle, contributing to the expressions on the faces; thus strong and delicate features are achieved simultaneously." She has employed this technique in the vast majority of her work, and reports that she is deeply connected to the transformative effect of firing. “''Fire is a creative element which models my sculptures all in their giving life'',” Poulsen says.

Work

Since 1990, Poulsen has been featured in individual exhibitions in Denmark, France, the US, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon and Switzerland. Beginning in 1992, she began to participate in group shows in Spain, Palma de Mallorca, Belgium, United States, and France. Her work was included in the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art 2003 exhibition ''Ethiopian Passages: Dialogues in the Diaspora.''

''Solo exhibitions''

* 2010: Galerie d'Haudrecy Knockke, Galerie Claudine, Legrand Paris * 2009: Galerie Geneviève Godard Lille, Willem Elias Woluwe Belgium, Galerie Strenger Tokyo Japan, Centre d'Art André Malraux Colmar * 2008: Galerie Strenger, Tokyo, Japan, Joie Lassiter Gallery Charlotte U.S.A, Pappirfabrikken Silkeborg Denmark, Parlement Européen, Charteaux d'Hardelay Les Herbiers, Womanhood Hood Museum New Hampshire, Worldbank Washington U.S.A * 2007: UNESCO Paris, Kolonienpaleis Tervuren Belgium, Musée Maurice Denis, Paris, D'Haudrecy Art Gallery Knokke Zoute Belgium, Wertz Contemporary Gallery, Atlanta Georgia, Galerie Claudine Legrand Paris, Galerie Elfie Bohrer Banstetten, Zurich, Switzerland * 2006: Skoto Gallery, New York, Galerie Capazza, Nancay, France, Centre Culturel Scharpoord Knokke, Belgium, Galerie des Emibois, Switzerland * 2005: Galerie Claudine Legrand, Paris, Wertz contemporary Gallery Atlanta, USA, Gallery Knud Grothe Charlottenlund, Denmark, Gallery Marc Van Meensel, Holland Art Fair Den Haag, Galerie Hamlin Honfleur, France, Galerie Claudine Legrand, Paris, Lineart Gent, Belgium, Galerie 23 Amsterdam * 2003: St’art 2003, Strasbourg, Gallery Knud Grothe Charlottenlund, Denmark, Smithsonian Museum of African Art, Washington, Galerie des Emibois, Switzerland, Galerie Hamelin Honfleur, France, Gallery MAM, Douala, Cameroon, MOBA Gallery, Belgium * 2002: Alliance Française, Ethiopia, Galerie Claudine Legrand, Paris * 2001: Gallery MAM, Douala, Cameroon, St’art 2001, Strasbourg, October Gallery, London, Château des Carmes, La Flèche, France * 2000: Biennale Dakar, Hamelin Gallery, Honfleur, Galerie Capazza, Nancy, France, Galerie Claudine Legrand, Paris * 1999: Galerie Geneviève Godar, Lille, Galerie des Emibois, Switzerland, Maison de la Céramique, Mulhouse * 1998: Arts Pluriels, Abidjan, Ivory Coast, MAM, Douala, Cameroon, Galerie Claudine Legrand, Paris * 1997: Bomani Gallery, San Francisco, Afrique en Création, Ministry of Cooperation, Centre Wallonie, Brussels, Galerie Claudine Legrand, Paris * 1996: Centre Culturel, Meudon, Paris, Galerie Hamelin, Honfleur, Galerie Geneviève Godar, Lille * 1994: Centre Culturel La Nacelle, Aubergenville, France * 1989: Industrial Space Dong, Copenhagen, Denmark * 2004:

Museum of World Culture The National Museum of World Culture ( sv, Världskulturmuseet) opened in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 2004. It is a part of the public authority Swedish National Museums of World Cultures and builds on the collections of the former Göteborgs Etnog ...

, Göteborg, Sweden, Lille Art Fair, Galerie Hamlin, Galerie Geneviève Godar, Lille, Galerie Claudine Legrand, Paris, St’art 2004, Galerie Hamlin, Strasbourg

Joint exhibitions

2010: Beddington Fine Art Bargemon, Joint Exhibition with Christian Destieu 21 August - 16 October 2010, Group Sculpture Beddington Fine Art 10th Anniversary Exhibition Gallery Garden Bargemon from the 26th of June 2010, Galerie Elfie Bohrer Zurich 2007: Terre Noire "Ousmane Sow et les tendances de la sculpture africaine d'aujourd'hui", Musée Départemental Maurice Denis, St- Germain- en Laye 2006: Les 4 Saisons, L'Hiver Inge Horup & Etiyé Dimma Poulsen Beddington Fine Art Bargemon 2003: Ethiopian Passages: Dialogues in the Diaspora, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, DC

Museum collections

The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca, New York; The Hans Bogatzke Collection of Contemporary African Art, Germany; The Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, DC; Newark Museum, Newark, New Jersey; Hood Museum, Hanover, New Hampshire; La Piscine, Roubaix, France

References

External links

Biographical sketch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poulsen, Etiye Dimma 1968 births Living people Ethiopian sculptors Ethiopian ceramists Belgian ceramists Danish sculptors Ethiopian women artists Ethiopian emigrants to Belgium Danish people of Ethiopian descent Danish emigrants to Belgium 21st-century Danish ceramists Ethiopian women ceramists Danish women ceramists Belgian women ceramists