Gypsum

It’s rare to see plaster or gypsum used as an exhibition material because it is considered worthy only as a sketching medium before a work is made in marble or other solid materials. Instead, Birgitte sees casting of plaster as studies made on the premises of the material; since plaster is a fluid material she chooses to work on the premises of this quality or capacity, shaping in moulds, carving and casting geometrical forms in an ongoing study of positive, negative and hollow spaces.
In the ceramic artist’s deft hands it is a fluid expressive medium, moulded, shaped and cast, then polished to a velvety surface that begs to be touched. Birgitte Due Madsen wants her work to stimulate the interaction between the observer and the object. Gypsum surprises and attracts with its soft surface and deep reflections of light and shadow. It’s an almost sensual play with the laws of attraction. If you touch the object you get a more sensible and sophisticated understanding of the craftsmanship behind as well as the beauty of the surface. Birgitte works on a piece for a very long time, always refining the material. She trusts her instincts and values. Everything has a history and is inscribed in historic contexts and classic disciplines that seems to offer so much more inspiration, matter, and content than a fleeting trend. If one goes into the basic principles of geometry the possibilities of form are endless.