New acquisition: Sculpture by Eva Hild

Nationalmuseum has acquired a stoneware sculpture by the artist Eva Hild. Entitled Splay 2, the work is typical of the artist’s eccentric designs, featuring large, organic shapes in fine material. Hild’s remarkable designs have achieved international recognition in recent years.

Nationalmuseum has expanded its applied art and design collection with the addition of the sculpture Splay 2 by Eva Hild, created in 2012. Eva Hild’s eccentric ceramic sculptures have gained widespread international recognition since the artist made her debut in the year 2000. She has continuously developed both her aesthetic and her technique, while staying loyal to the large, organic shapes in fine stoneware that have become her trademark.

Eva Hild carefully moulds her ceramic forms by hand. She begins by forming a bowl, from which the organic shape slowly evolves. To create the piece, she winds fine-grained stone clay around the edges of the form. She works the clay with a metal scraper to make the surface “seamless” and smooth. Bit by bit, shapes evolve, resembling snails, gristle, bones or shells.

The relationship between interior and exterior, and the tension between them, is what chiefly interests Eva Hild. She believes the shapes describe different mental states, forming emotional situations in which every sculpture becomes a self-portrait.

The acquisition was made possible by a generous donation from the Barbro Osher Fund.

Further information
Cilla Robach, curator applied art and modern design, cilla.robach@nationalmuseum.se, +46 8 5195 4388
Hanna Tottmar, press officer, hanna.tottmar@nationalmuseum.se, +46 8 5195 4390