Kina Björklund
Swedish Ceramic Artist
“MY SISTER IS AN ANTIQUE DEALER PROVIDING ME WITH AMPLE DECORATIONS FOUND IN 18TH-CENTURY CERAMICS, ANTIQUE BROOCHES, LACE & IRONMONGERY”
For Kina Björklund, making is led by instinct and rhythm. Her designs take shape in a state of flow, emerging spontaneously through blended memories. Ever since she was a child, old objects have drawn her: ornate antiques, folk art, patterns of lace. She sees no difference between binaries of ‘high’ or ‘low’ art – the only criteria is what “makes my heart beat faster”. The visual language of these antique objects reveal themselves through her ceramic works, lending them a timeless familiarity.
The ceramic pieces Björklund creates therefore echo a sense of home, ambiguously balanced between function and sculpture. Her candlesticks, plates and vessels seem to belong just as much to everyday domestic scenes as they do to the imagination. They evoke the personal and the intimate, not only in their motifs, but in their hand-held scale and tactile shapes that invite touch. Many of these shapes draw inspiration from nature and plant matter – undulating rims, tangled stems, buds of flowers. These organic forms seem to grow through her works, lending a feeling of fantasy.
An embrace of imperfection is at the heart of Bjorklund’s practice. Surprises and mistakes are both welcome, bringing an openness to chance in her process. The slow practice of hand-building allows her continuous exploration, intuitively led by the hand. Every piece is a result of this encounter – between memory and material, mind and hand.
Collectors of Kina Bjorklund, Daniela and Niklaus von Bartha photographed by Beth Evans for our 20th Anniversary Book.
