Stoneware by Sten Lykke Madsen
Very unusual BING & GRONDAHL (B & G) stoneware figurine designed by Sten Lykke Madsen. Approximately 8.5 inches (21.5 cm) tall and 7.5 inches (19 cm) wide. Modern, whimsical, semi-abstract. Appropriately marked on the bottom, including the three tower trademark of Bing & Grondahl.
The following was adapted from an article on Sten Lykke Madsen by Ole Lindboe entitled The Fanciful Ceramist: "More than any other, Sten Lykke Madsen embodies the fanciful in Danish ceramics. In his universe, the imagination is on a continuous voyage of discovery. His strange but benign mutants tumble about. You might feel somewhat ill at ease upon first meeting his creatures and their fickle natures. Imagine turning your back on them for a minute: What might they do?
Sten Lykke Madsen is blessed with a both simpleminded and refined sense of the wonder of life. His deeply original sense of form has a touch of cubism. The world is lightly twisted; turned upside-down. Cracks to the subconscious open up. It is anarchistic in a beautiful and subtly witty manner.
There is no doubt that Sten Lykke Madsen is one of our great artists in his special field. The dichotomy between art and crafts loses all meaning when you visit his world. It is all freewheeling fancy. He has retained his childhood’s ability to wonder, which he shares with the viewer. He can be surprised and surprising; amused and amusing. He is a watcher who always looks again, pondering the details, spotting the small in the great – and the great in the small."
Sten Lykke Madsen was born 1937 Copenhagen, Denmark. He was stone deaf from birth (Sten means “stone” in Danish) but learned to read lips in both Danish and English. He studied at the Art, Craft & Design School in Copenhagen. He worked for Bing & Grøndahl 1962-86, and for Royal Copenhagen 1986-2003. Most of his sculptures were unique works of art, often selling for thousands of dollars.