Mette Maya Gregersen

Curriculum Vitae

Born in 1973, lives and works in Denmark.

Educated in London and Sheffield, she weaves a rich artistic journey blending ceramics and art psychotherapy.
Her work, exhibited in renowned museums and biennales from Shanghai to Los Angeles, Brussels to Taipei, explores the interplay of material, memory, and nature. She shares her expertise through lectures and workshops in China, the US, Italy, and Denmark.
Residencies from Kathmandu to the Mediterranean fuel her deep research into marine life and sculpture.
A recipient of numerous grants, she is celebrated by the Danish Arts Foundation and the National Bank.
As a member of the International Academy of Ceramics, she teaches ceramics with passion and boldness.

The summer of 2025 brought a wonderful highlight for Mette Maya: she was awarded first prize at the international ceramics triennial in Poland. From no fewer than 678 entries, 52 ceramists were selected — and she emerged as the winner.

We are honoured to welcome her to our gallery for the second time. Her distinctive wave structures are now part of our permanent collection.

Inspiration

Mette Maya’s quest manifests itself in two directions: creating waves and constructions.
One is loose and wild, the other is refined and measured, comparable to how she lives her life, drifting away and trying to disappear, while remaining grounded and building her home.
Seeking balance between her spontaneous nature and the responsibility of being an artist and a mother.
Working with clay is searching for structures that connect spirit and matter, materialising the atmosphere.

When constructing a piece, she becomes intensely absorbed, a form of hypnosis that weaves itself around her.
The transformation of clay is a way of interpreting the world, of seeing what is really there, of giving meaning.
Every form she creates is a response to an experience.

For her, waves are the symbol and means of understanding movement, partly because of the natural tendency of waves to move constantly and because she herself always moved from one place to another. The imprint left after burning away the wooden frame records the traces of what once was. Our experiences in life also leave lasting traces, but the fixed moment of experience is gone forever, evaporated into subtle essences without structure that we can take with us. The wave comes and goes? So do we.

After a while, after so much burning away and revealing what remains, there is a need for a direct connection with clay with a structure all of its own; these are constructions made by building up.
In this process, she gives the clay texture, pulls the strips apart and lets them fall over each other.
For her, the structures reflect the passing of time, a balance between the transience of the waves and the eons of the land.

Technique

The waves are constructed from layers of clay formed on a base of curved thin bamboo slats. She often hangs the base structure from the ceiling so that gravity can play its part while she adds layers and allows the material to dry between each lamination.
She uses different types of clay for this, each with its own voice.
The different reactions in the fire often create unforeseen surprises.

Earthenware is mixed with stoneware glazes. She combines porcelain and earthenware, and each piece is fired several times.
Repeated glazing and firing has a unique effect on the surface and shape, until the work feels “complete”.
This process of letting go of control over the result and welcoming surprises is an essential part of her work.