Hammershi ceramics by Khler
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Hammershøi vases by Hans-Christian Bauer for Kähler[/caption]
Kähler, the Danish ceramic homeware specialist, is heading towards its 180th birthday with aplomb. Since 1839 the company has evolved from founder Herman Joachim Kähler’s studio pottery, to an international brand holding the powerful formula of a Scandinavian design heritage. This is thanks in-part to the successive Kählers inviting in creative talent to design forms and thus allowing the Kähler sons to develop the potter’s craft.
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Svend Hammershøi in the Kähler workshop. Image credit: Kähler[/caption]
One notable collaborator was Svend Hammershøi who had an ongoing relationship with the company throughout his life. Svend was a designer, painter and ceramist, and younger brother of the well-known painter of calm, melancholic interiors, Vilhelm Hammershøi. He developed numerous designs for Kähler often featuring distinctive furrows, which played off the glaze to create decorative repeat markings. Svend also worked with terracotta which would be smoked during firing and finished in a coat of wax or oil.
A large bowl designed by Svend Hammershøi for Herman A Kähler Keramik circa 1930's. Image credit: 1st Dibs
Large-scale ovoid form yellow-glazed vase by Artist Svend Hammershøi for the Herman A. Kähler pottery studio, circa 1920s. Image credit: 1st Dibs
Nowadays Svend Hammershøi’s legacy at Kähler lives on through its Hammershøi range designed by a recent graduate of The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Hans-Christian Bauer. An industrial designer with a keen interest in ceramics, Bauer has reinterpreted Hammershøi’s extensive catalogue of Kähler work into a range of contemporary vases and tableware using a vibrant colour palette. Discussing the collection, Bauer says “what to me is unique about ceramic as a material is the exciting play which occurs between the matt white core and smooth fine glaze that covers it. By leaving the underlying material visible through the glaze, it is possible to create a depth you cannot get in hard materials such as plastic and metal. I strive to combine some of the warmth and uniqueness of the ceramic material with rational modern design, good usefulness and clear seriality.”
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Hammershøi vases and candle holder by Hans-Christian Bauer for Kähler[/caption]
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Hammershøi grinders by Hans-Christian Bauer for Kähler[/caption]
This beautifully shot short film summarises the making of a Hammershøi vase in Kähler’s workshop:
Kähler’s Hammershøi range is available to buy both online and in store.