Etiyé Dimma Poulsen facts for kids

Etiyé Dimma Poulsen (born 1968) is an Ethiopian-born Danish sculptor. She is famous for her amazing work with ceramics.

About Etiyé Dimma Poulsen

Poulsen has shown her art in many places. These include Europe, Africa, and North America. She currently lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium. Her sculptures are found in many museums. One important place is the National Museum of African Art in Washington, DC.

Etiyé was born in Ethiopia. When she was six, she moved to Tanzania. Later, she moved to Kenya with her adoptive parents. Her parents were Danish. They moved the family to Denmark when Etiyé was fourteen. There, she studied art history in college. She also taught art in programs for young people.

At first, she painted landscapes. She used oil paints on canvas. But she became very interested in making sculptures. This led her to move to France when she was 23. That is when she started working with clay.

Her Artistic Style

Poulsen's sculptures often look like thin human shapes. She colors them with natural pigments. Her art gets ideas from traditional African art. It also takes inspiration from the art of Oceania. But she says her own life experiences are also very important. She has lived on different continents.

Poulsen loves how human faces can look so different. She says, "The more simple and clear my forms are, the more they seem to express." If you look closely at her sculptures, you might be surprised. The faces often get their expressions from a simple cracked line. This line might show an eye or a wrinkle. She feels that through cracks and broken parts, life itself appears.

How She Creates Her Art

Poulsen is best known for her unique ceramic sculptures. She uses a special method. She puts a thin layer of clay onto an iron mesh. When this is fired, it creates figures that look old and "primitive." The cracks that appear during firing help form the eyes or wrinkles on the faces. This way, her figures look both strong and delicate at the same time.

She uses this method for most of her work. Poulsen feels a strong connection to the way fire changes her sculptures. She says, "Fire is a creative element. It shapes my sculptures as it gives them life."

Exhibitions and Collections

Since 1990, Poulsen has had many solo art shows. These have been in countries like Denmark, France, the US, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, and Switzerland. From 1992, she also started taking part in group shows. These were held in places like Spain, Belgium, the United States, and France. Her art was part of a special exhibition in 2003. It was called Ethiopian Passages: Dialogues in the Diaspora at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art.

Notable Exhibitions

Poulsen has had many solo exhibitions. Some of these include shows in Tokyo, Japan, New York, USA, and Paris, France. She has also shown her work in her home country of Denmark.

She has also participated in joint exhibitions with other artists. For example, in 2010, she had a joint exhibition with Christian Destieu in Bargemon. In 2003, her work was featured in Ethiopian Passages: Dialogues in the Diaspora at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art.

Where to See Her Art

You can find Etiyé Dimma Poulsen's art in several museum collections. These include:

• The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art in Ithaca, New York
• The Hans Bogatzke Collection of Contemporary African Art in Germany
• The Smithsonian National Museum of African Art in Washington, DC
• Newark Museum in Newark, New Jersey
• Hood Museum in Hanover, New Hampshire
• La Piscine in Roubaix, France

See also

In Spanish: Etiyé Dimma Poulsen para niños