Bent Exner

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The jewel in the port of Hals

Bent Exner (born November 12, 1932 in Hald ( Randers ); died August 23, 2006 in Pandrup ) was a Danish goldsmith and church artist .

life and work

Bent Exner grew up as the son of the Protestant provost Johan Exner in Hald, north of the East Jutland port town of Randers. His brother was the Danish architect Johannes Exner (1926–2015).

Exner began his career as a goldsmith making rings, brooches and pendants. Soon he received orders from the church to decorate the altar, for chalices, pictures and altar crosses. From 1961 to 1984 he was married to Helga Exner (born Menzel 1939) and worked with her, who is also a goldsmith and jewelry artist, in a joint workshop. The couple had four daughters and one son. Until his death, Exner lived and worked in a lonely country house near Pandrup. There he built a pavilion for the exhibition of his works based on a design by his niece, the architect Karen Exner, which, through its high glass surfaces, contrasts the artful exhibits, mainly jewelry, with the surrounding harsh nature.

The pavilion in Pandrup

Bent Exner was one of the few artists who - despite the health hazards from inhaling mercury vapors - still worked with the old technique of fire gilding at the beginning of his artistic activity , especially for his church art, due to the special technical possibilities and artistic effects .

Exner applied his formal language equally to the large-format church works as well as to pieces of jewelry, did not explicitly differentiate between sacred and profane art and emphasized the importance of craftsmanship for art. One example is the cross decoration made in 1967 for the church in Asø ( Langeland ), a red colored square with fire-gilded sequins , the shape of which reappears as a silver pendant for a year. The shape of the jewel by Hals (see picture) can also be found as an altar cross in the Nørrelandskirche in Holstebro and as a 6 cm high structure of a ring in 18 carat gold. Exner understood jewelry, both profane and sacred, as the "objectification of the festive statement", which arises from joy and gratitude and gives this expression. Gold enables this expression in a special way through the properties of suppleness, shine and resistance. Exner described handicraft as a "visible variant of thinking" and thinking as the "result of manual activity."

For the wedding of Margaret II to Henri de Laborde de Monpezat in 1967, Exner created a precious copy of the Frøslevskrinet from the 12th century, which was found in Frøslev (Morsø Kommune) in 1872 . The copy was a gift for which a committee raised around 750,000 crowns. Exner is one of Denmark's most important goldsmiths, whose church art can be seen in over 50 churches in Denmark. Since the 1970s, exhibitions of his work have taken place in Japan, the United States and some major European cities.

literature

  • Martin Drouzy, Bent Exner, Ole Wivel: Guldsmeden. Bent Exners smykke- og kirkekunst. (Goldsmith. Bent Exner's jewelry and church art), Paul Kristensens Verlag, Herning 1996, ISBN 87-7851-038-4 (Danish, English, German).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Massimo Grillo: Eneren Exner in Nordjysk from March 29, 2003 ( Memento of the original from March 27, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Danish). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / nordjyske.dk
  2. ↑ Martin Drouzy: The Hermit in Pandrup in Martin Drouzy, Bent Exner, Ole Wivel: Guldsmeden. Bent Exners smykke- og kirkekunst. 1996. pp. 141-148.
  3. ^ Bent Exner at Gyldendal (Danish), accessed on March 13, 2017.
  4. ↑ Martin Drouzy, Bent Exner, Ole Wivel: Guldsmeden. Bent Exners smykke- og kirkekunst. 1996, pp. 38, 39, 89.
  5. ^ Bent Exner: The goldsmith in Martin Drouzy, Bent Exner, Ole Wivel: Guldsmeden. Bent Exners smykke- og kirkekunst. 1996, p. 151f.
  6. ^ Bent Exner The goldsmith in Martin Drouzy, Bent Exner, Ole Wivel: Guldsmeden. Bent Exners smykke- og kirkekunst. 1996, p. 155.
  7. ↑ Frøslevskrinet bei Gyldendal (Danish), accessed on March 13, 2017.
  8. ↑ Ole Wivel in Martin Drouzy, Bent Exner, Ole Wivel: Guldsmeden. Bent Exners smykke- og kirkekunst. 1996, p. 9.

Web links

Commons : Bent Exner  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Exner, Bent
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Danish goldsmith and church artist
DATE OF BIRTH November 12, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH Hald ( Randers ), Denmark
DATE OF DEATH August 23, 2006
Place of death Pandrup , Denmark