Maria Bang Espersen

Maria Bang Espersen is a Swedish-based, Danish contemporary artist working in glass. Espersen initially considered becoming an art historian and thus enrolled at the University of Aarhus, Denmark. For various reasons, however, she dropped out after 1.5 years, without any concrete backup plans.

Her interest in, and fascination for, glassblowing eventually led her to trying it out at a local school, Engelsholm Højskole, Vejle, Denmark (2005), and soon after she was fully committed, completing a three-year technical glassblowing programme atKosta School of Glass, Kosta, Sweden (2006-2009). After this she studied glass at an applied arts school, The Royal Danish Academy of Design, Center of Glass, Bornholm, for another three years (2009-2012) in Nexø, Denmark, before finally earning her MFA in art at CalArts, Art Program, California Institute of the Arts in California, U.S.A. (2017).

Espersen’s residencies include Glazen Huis, Lommel, Belgium (2012); Corning Museum of Glass, New York, U.S.A. (2013); Wheaton Arts, New Jersey, U.S.A. (2013); Playa Fellowship, Oregon, U.S.A. (2014); S12, Bergen, Norway (2015); National Glass Centre, Sunderland, United Kingdom (2015); The Core Program, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, U.S.A. (2017-2019); The Glass Factory, Boda, Sweden (2018); and The Danish Arts Foundation and CCS, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. (2020).

Espersen has also served as a guest teacher, visiting artist and workshop instructor at the following institutions: Engelsholm Højskole, Vejle, Denmark; IKA, Mechelen, Belgium; Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; The Sorrell Foundation, Sunderland, United Kingdom; Royal College of Art, London; North Lands Creative Glass, Scotland, United Kingdom; University of Texas Arlington, Texas, U.S.A.; and College for Creative Studies, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A.

The many collections holding pieces by Espersen includes: Victoria and Albert Museum, London; The Corning Museum of Glass, New York State, U.S.A.; Designmuseum Danmark, Copenhagen; KODE - Museum of Art, Craft, Design and Music, Bergen, Norway; Rakusui-tei Art Museum and Gardens, Toyama, Japan; Museum of American Glass, Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center, Millville, New Jersey, U.S.A.; National Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, Trondheim, Norway; Musee-atelier du Verre, Sars-Poteries, France; Achilles-Stiftung, Germany; Konstsammlungen der Veste Coburg, Coburg, Germany; Sunderland Culture, United Kingdom; Glasmuseum Alter Hof Herding, Coesfeld Lette, Germany; Musee du Verre Charleroi, Charleroi, Belgium; Studio Collection of the Corning Museum of Glass, New York, U.S.A.; Public Art Agency Sweden; The Danish Arts Foundation; Collection of the City of Lommel, Belgium; Småland’s Art Archive, Värnamo, Sweden; Region of Kalmar, Sweden; Region of Sörmland, Sweden; and Uppsala Municipality, Sweden.

Espersen has shown her pieces in the following selected solo and duo exhibitions: Interactions, Officinet, Copenhagen, with Verena Schatz (2013); The Fine Line, Gallery Rasch, Bornholm, Denmark, with Caroline Pradal (2013); Underneath it all, Bredgade Kunsthandel, Copenhagen, solo (2014); Process is an Exhibition, S12, Bergen, Norway, with Max Syron (2015); Re Cover, S12, Bergen, Norway, with Max Syron (2015); I Virkeligheden, Fortælle Galleriet, Holstebro, Denmark, solo (2015); What to breathe about, Gallery SiC!, Wroclaw, Poland, solo (2015); I am living in a free country, D300, CalArts, California, U.S.A., solo(2015); National Costume, CalArts, California, U.S.A., solo (2017); WEEDS, Already Within Project Space, Houston, Texas, U.S.A., solo (2019); Deviations, Formbar Glasverksted, Haugesund, Norway, solo (2019); A Fictional Character, Grønbechs Gaard, Denmark, solo (2020); Nonlinear, Galleri Glas, Stockholm, solo (2021); Nordic Mythologies, Vandalorum Museum of Art and Design, Sweden, solo (2022); and Soft Connections, Galleri Montan, Copenhagen, solo (2024).

To this could be added the following impressive list of group exhibitions: Is i Magen, Eld i Blodet, Växjö, Sweden (2009); Zwieseler Kölbl 2009 (2009); After Dark, Grønbæksgaard, Hasle, Denmark (2010); AQUA 2010, Hundested, Denmark (2010); Second Life, Hanover, Germany (2012); Svanekegaardens Spring Exhibition, Denmark (2012); Process, Hasle, Denmark (2012); International Glass Prize, Belgium (2012); Green, Nexø, Denmark (2012); SiO2, Copenhagen (2012); Stanislav Libensky Award, Prague (2012); Enjoy the Silence, Gallery Øckenlund, Copenhagen (2013); Talente, Munich, Germany (2013); Substance, Bredgade Kunsthandel, Denmark (2013); 25th+ Anniversary Celebration, Braggiotti Gallery, the Netherlands (2013); Art Herning, through Bredgade Kunsthandel, Denmark (2014); Danish Stars, Konsthantverkarna, Stockholm (2014); BodyTalk, Ebeltoft Glass Museum, Denmark and GlazenHuis, Belgium (2014); The Coburg Prize for Contemporary Glass 2014, Germany (2014); 2D→, touring exhibition, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia (2014); RETURN, Holstebro Festive week, Holstebro, Denmark (2014); Young and Loving, S12, Bergen, Norway (2014); BRAFA Art Fair, represented by Clara Scremini Gallery, Brussels (2015); DG15, Ebeltoft Glass Museum, Denmark (2015); The Process, International Glass Prize, Lommel, Belgium (2015); KP15, Århus Kunsthal, Denmark (2015); Substance, Bredgade Kunsthandel, Copenhagen (2015); Biennalen for Kunsthåndværk og Design, Copenhagen(2015); Drawing – An expressive gesture with the advantage of performance, Sunderland, England (2015); ♂ ♀ LOVE, International Glass Festival 2015, Wroclaw, Poland (2015); European Prize for Applied Arts, Mons, Belgium (2015); Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition 2016, Copenhagen (2016); Sølv, Gold-Smidt Assembly, London (2016); North Lands: A portrait at 20, Dovecot Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom (2016); FUNN, S12, Bergen, Norway (2016); Great Danes, GlazenHuis, Lommel, Belgium (2016); Great Danes, Hempel Glass Museum, Denmark (2017); Handmade-Scandinavian Glass starting all over, The Glass Factory, Sweden (2017); The Collection, GlazenHuis, Lommel, Belgium (2017); i-Glass, Levant Gallery, Shanghai, China (2017); The Texas Pearl Project Space, Berlin (2017); Leftovers, Far Bazaar, Cerritos College, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. (2017); Clothing Optional, Night Gallery, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. (2017); Handmade-Scandinavian Glass starting all over, The Finnish Glass Museum, Finland (2018); GLAMFA, CSULB, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. (2018); 2018 Core Exhibition, Lawndale, Houston, Texas, U.S.A. (2018); Dangerous Professors, Flatland Gallery, Houston, Texas, U.S.A. (2018); CraftTexas, Houston Contemporary Craft Center, Houston, Texas, U.S.A. (2018); New Scandinavian Glass, Vessel Gallery, London (2018); Next to the skin, WCC, Belgium (2018); BRAFA Art Fair, represented by Clara Scremini, Brussels (2019); Group Exhibition, Gray Contemporary, Houston, Texas, U.S.A. (2019); Movement of Glass, Musee-atelier du Verre, Sars-Poteries, France (2019); Core Exhibition, Glassell School of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, U.S.A. (2019); Lugtenes Dramaturgi, Odin Theater, Holstebro, Denmark (2019); New Glass Now, Corning Museum of Glass, U.S.A. (2019); Core Screening, Brown Auditorium, Glassell, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, U.S.A. (2019); Q-Fest Film Festival, Houston, Texas, U.S.A. (2019); Collect, The International Art Fair for Modern Craft and Design, Vessel Gallery, London (2020); Ann Arbor Film Festival, Michigan, U.S.A. (2020); New Positions, Simone DeSousa Gallery, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. (2020); Silver, Habitat Galleries, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. (2020); Ta deg TID (Take your TIME), Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum, Norway (2020); The Palace, The Glass Factory Boda, Sweden (2020); 20/2020, Galleri Glas, Stockholm (2020); Collect Art Fair, w/ Vessel Gallery, London (2021); House of Boda, The Glass Factory Boda, Sweden (2021); International Kogei Award, Toyama, Japan (2021); Art in Glass - Glass in Art, Galleri MONTAN, Copenhagen (2021); Toyama International Glass Exhibition 2021, Japan (2021); NGC Glass Prize, National Glass Centre, Sunderland, United Kingdom (2021); New Glass Now, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery, U.S.A. (2021); Pop-Up Glass, RVNhus x Galleri Montan, Kolding, Denmark (2022); Structures from a molten world, The Glass Factory Boda, Sweden (2022); Mirage, RVNHus x Galleri Montan, Kolding, Denmark (2022); The Coburg Prize for Contemporary Glass 2022, Veste Coburg and European Museum of Modern Glass, Germany (2022); The Shape of Colors, Galleri Montan, Copenhagen (2022); Glass - hand formed matter, Bröhan Museum, Berlin (2022); Artefact, w/ Vessel Gallery, The Contemporary Craft Fair, London (2022); Animal House, curated by Kristen De La Valliere, Etage Projects, Copenhagen (2022); A State of Matter: Modern and Contemporary Glass Sculpture, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, United Kingdom (2022); Studioglas aus Dänemark, European Museum of Modern Glass, Rödental, Germany (2023); The Value in Things, w/Vessel Gallery, Cromwell Place, London (2023); Makers 2, Caselli 11-12, Milan, Italy (2023); Generation Glass, CFHILL, Stockholm (2023); Chimera, La Beast Gallery, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A (2023); COLLECT, w/Vessel Gallery, London (2024); The Glass Heart, Two Temple Place, London (2024); Toyama International Glass Exhibition, Toyama Glass Art Museum, Japan (2024); VitraHaus Loft by Sabine Marcelis, Weil am Rhein, Germany (2024); European Prize for Applied Arts, Grande Halle Les Anciens Abattoirs, Mons, Belgium (2024); 無常 When you lose control, Glas – The Museum in Ebeltoft, Denmark (2024); Fire Works, Puls Gallery, Brussels (2024); Ceramic Brussels w/ Puls Gallery, Brussels (2025); THERESI_ART 14, ART[S] Gallery, Noordwijk, the Netherlands (2025); Small Works – Big Stories, Annika Nuttall Gallery, Aarhus, Denmark (2025); The Révélations Biennial, Grand Palais, Paris (2025); Was bleibt?!, Galerie von Wegen, Hamburg, Germany (2025); Formative, Ruzy Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey (2025); Contemporary Istanbul Art Fair w/ Ruzy Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey (2025); POSITIONS Berlin Art Fair w/ Galerie von Wegen, Berlin (2025); Blazing Grace, The Swedish Institute, Paris (2025); Kunst. Hånd. Verk., The National Museum, Oslo (2025); and The Biennial for Art and Design, Ebeltoft Glasmuseum, Denmark (2025).

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