Inge Trautner
Inge Trautner (born 1953) is a Danish ceramist who has gained recognition for her work in the Japanese/Korean ceramic tradition, creating functional forms such as jars, dishes, bowls, and jugs.
Inge Trautner
Inge Trautner (born 1953) is a Danish ceramist who has gained recognition for her work in the Japanese/Korean ceramic tradition, creating functional forms such as jars, dishes, bowls, and jugs. She received her education in ceramics from the Jutland Art Academy between 1976 and 1980, where she honed her skills and developed a passion for Nordic and Eastern classical ceramics.
Trautner is known for her use of repetitive stamped decorations in wet clay and colored and inlaid clay in dishes, often combined with embossing techniques like stamps and cut grooves that bring out the dark tones of the clay and add an accent to the form. She frequently employs strong blue-toned and turquoise-green glazes together with icy white glazes. In addition, Trautner works with an iron glaze called tenmoku, which can appear deep black to reddish-brown depending on the firing.
Trautner was a member of the exhibition group "8 ceramists" from 1987 to 1996. The group took inspiration from Bernard Leach and showcased ceramics from eight different Danish artists. Trautner's work is rooted in ancient Nordic ceramics with a nod to early Persian, Japanese, and Korean ceramics. She focuses on the form of the jar, the dish, the bowl, and the vase, rather than testing the limits of the material.
Trautner turns everything fresh on the wheel and further processes them in Danish red clay, coating them in several layers and glazing them with ash/iron glazes. She fires the earthenware clay at a high temperature of 1200°C with heavy reduction so that the clay and glaze melt closely together, creating a texture in the surface that balances between the raw and the delicate in expression.
Trautner does not strive for perfect smoothness in her work, but rather for simplicity, life, and rhythm in form and decoration. She does not distinguish between pieces for use and unique works, as all her works are "one of a kind." Trautner hopes to please both the hand and the eye with her art.