Soft Series 2021
The sculptures of Maria Bang Espersen challenge conformity though the malleability of glass as she pushes the boundaries of how and what is to be made in the material. Her tools are specifically made for her processes and limitations that normally apply to glassblowing cease to exist in her hands: Espersen does not work at the bench, but outside of it. Neither does she solely work at the end of a blowpipe, but also separated from it. And her technical interests are not about skillsets, but remains simplistic as well as playfully experimental. The work knows no limitations aside from that of gravity and time, and the results are novel sculptures that capture short moments of past actions. Espersen’s rapidly made sculptures are always situated within a space occupied by the two opposites, control and serendipity, and her unconventional fabrication modes manifest her interest in deconstructing existing hierarchical orders.