‘The Lion Has to Be Happy’ Art Exhibition

A new art exhibition by contemporary Danish ceramist Marianne Steenholdt Bork is making its North American debut at Solvang’s Elverhøj Museum of History & Art, on view now through October 14. The exhibit, titled The Lion Has to Be Happy, is a traveling exhibit sponsored by the National Foundation of Danish America and The Scan Design Foundation. Bork’s work has been widely exhibited both nationally and internationally.

On her Instagram, Bork announced: “The National Foundation for Danish America has asked me to make a tour that will last two-to-three years. My 25 works of art will be exhibited in eight different places around the U.S. starting in the Danish colony Solvang, California, and ending in Chicago, Illinois. I exhibit exclusively narrative and fabulous ceramics, where animals are a common subject. I work on these motifs a lot in advance, for example lions, owls and foxes. I also intend to create some completely new motifs that tell about the notion of emigration to America. For that, I’ve found some typical American icons, which I incorporate into the characters – for example Rosie the Riveter, the strong female icon from World War II. And then, of course, the Indians and cowboys.” 

She will give an artist talk at a Danish American cultural center in Yorba Linda in California. Bork’s usual central theme is the “lion” (aka Filihankat) which appears in her art in varying shapes and forms. Her artist bio shares that the symbolism comes from her childhood and her exploration of lion imagery. Each piece is one-of-a-kind and hand created. Some of the pieces have gold accents. Bork was awarded the Fletcher Challenge Award of New Zealand and the Danish Kunsthaandvaerker Prisen of 1879.  

411: www.elverhoj.org
www.instagram.com/marianne_steenholdt_bork