Artists under Lockdown / Egeværk
Furniture makers keeping 'joyful and busy' in Elsinore.
By TDE Editorial Team / 26th May 2020
Mette Bentzen with ‘Ice Stool Twist 4’ in process
COURTESY: Egeværk
The Design Edit (TDE): How are you keeping busy in self-isolation?
Mette Bentzen (MT) & Lasse Kristensen (LK): We are extraordinarily busy with the renovation of our new 9,000 ft2 workshop and gallery space in Elsinore, north of Copenhagen. It is coming along beautifully and makes us excited and hopeful about the future. The daily work with our team plays out as normal (except for social distancing) and it lends us a wonderful opportunity to once in a while forget the crisis.
Egeværk, ‘Ice Stool 3’, 2020
COURTESY: Egeværk
TDE: Everyone’s pace of life has slowed down considerably; what is the impact of this new rhythm on your work and home life?
MB & LK: It is our luck that we planned the renovation of the new workshop and gallery space to take place in these months – long before we knew about the Coronavirus. So, our work life is just as busy and joyful as normal. On the home front, life with our two daughters and the dog is more peaceful than usual as the children have a completely different schedule. We are definitely learning a lot about the value of staying stiller. Perhaps children do not need to attend as many different things as they normally do?
Lasse Kristensen with ‘Ice Stool Twist 4’ in process
COURTESY: Egeværk
TDE: Do you have a favourite self-isolation recipe to share with us?
MB & LK: It has to be the ‘madpakke’ that we eat for lunch in the new place every day. A ‘madpakke’ is a lunch box with open-faced sandwiches on ‘rugbrød’ (really dark rye bread). In Denmark, we make ‘madpakker’ for children to take to school and many adults also bring them to work. They make everything seem more normal.
‘Ice Stool Twist’ in process
COURTESY: Egeværk
TDE: What is saving your sanity under lockdown?
MB & LK: Work! We are not isolated because we can work with a safe distance in the workshop and gallery space in Elsinore. On the home front, we kind of enjoy the calm with our girls.
TDE: Which online exhibition/gallery viewing room, or other internet offerings have caught your eye?
MB & LK: We are really excited about the new initiative “The Natural Room – Rethinking our Interior Spaces” by our dear London gallerist Sarah Myerscough. We love Sarah’s aesthetics, and The Natural Room raises a lot of questions which are more relevant now, during the crisis, than ever. Questions about the relationship between culture and nature, art and material, civilisation and biology. We definitely recommend a tour.
Egeværk at work during lockdown renovating their new workshop and gallery space in Elsinore
COURTESY: Egeværk
Egeværk – exploring craft, creating art.
The Natural Room: Rethinking our interior spaces – Sarah Myerscough Gallery.
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