Anne Kjærsgaard | Grothcollection

Anne Kjærsgaard (1933–1990) was a prominent Danish ceramicist, known for her unique contribution to both Danish and French ceramics. She began her education at the School of Arts and Crafts in Copenhagen from 1950 to 1954. She subsequently worked in Bernard Leach's studio in St. Ives, England, from 1955 to 1957, where she acquired important techniques in ceramics.

In 1958, Kjærsgaard moved to France and established herself first in Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye and later in La Borne in 1960. Here she met the potter Jean Linard, whom she married in 1964. Together they built their home and workshop in Neuvy-Deux-Clochers, where they built several kilns and created a creative environment. The couple had four children, but divorced in 1973.

Kjærsgaard's work is characterized by traditional shapes such as plates, bottles, bowls and jugs. She developed a unique decorative style, with original pencil decorations and thick, transparent glazes that gave her works a special character.

In 1976, she was invited as a visiting professor at the University of Colorado in Boulder, USA, where she taught for six months. After her stay in the United States, she introduced new glazes in brown and light blue in her creations.

Her works are represented in several museums, including CLAY Ceramics Museum Denmark, Designmuseum Denmark and Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon.

In 2009, the Danish Museum of Ceramics held a retrospective exhibition of her work, highlighting her artistic development from her move to France in 1958 until her death in 1990.

Anne Kjærsgaard died on 25 February 1990 in Neuvy-Deux-Clochers, but her influence on the ceramics world lives on through her works and the inspiration she has given to future generations of ceramicists.