Firing Sculpture 2025
A mobile art experience in the glow of transformation
Firing Sculpture 2025 is a performative, mobile art project that merges ceramics, fire, sound, and public space. At its core lies a transformative moment: the revealing of a glowing ceramic sculpture through heat, sound, and collective attention.
The sculpture is assembled from fired clay elements and surrounded by a temporary, mobile kiln made from modular panels and high-temperature insulation. Over the course of a day, the temperature is carefully increased—first with gas, then with dry pine—until the kiln reaches its peak around 1200°C. Flames rise, the structure glows white-hot, and the air vibrates with sound and anticipation.
As night falls, the kiln is ceremonially opened. Accompanied by a dynamic, improvised soundscape by Sven Meinild, the sculpture is revealed—white, gold, and red-hot. Sawdust thrown by the audience ignites into sparks, and the piece hisses and crackles as it cools. What remains is both sculpture and trace, an imprint of a fleeting moment.
FireSculpture is the latest evolution of the project—a reflective, monolithic structure that opens like a machine to reveal a glowing core. Built from steel and clay, it functions as a kind of archaic device: part ritual, part performance, part portal.
Next firing:
July 9
Ceramics Festival, Skælskør, DK
https://keramikfestival.dk/
See more of my fire sculpture projects:
Mortenplesner.dk/The-Three-Firing-Sculptures ︎︎︎
Mortenplesner.dk/Knotweed-Structure_Burning-sculptures ︎︎︎
Firing Sculptures and Their Historical Background
A firing sculpture is typically built from clay with a high content of sand and grog, enabling it to withstand direct exposure to flame. The sculpture must be constructed so that heat and fire are channeled upward through its form. After construction, the clay needs to dry thoroughly—a process that takes about a month depending on humidity. For high-temperature firings, the sculpture is surrounded by a mobile kiln shell made from ceramic fiber insulation, allowing the kiln to be removed so the glowing sculpture can be revealed. The durability of the finished work depends on the strength of the clay structure and the peak temperature achieved during the firing—it can become significantly more weather-resistant.
Historically, Denmark has produced two internationally recognized pioneers in the field of firing sculptures: Nina Hole (1941–2016) and Jørgen Hansen (born 1945). From around 1995 to 2017, both artists realized large-scale firing sculpture projects across the world. Today, Guldagergaard in Skælskør continues the tradition, annually inviting an international ceramic artist to create a firing sculpture in connection with the midsummer celebration of Sankt Hans.
A firing sculpture is typically built from clay with a high content of sand and grog, enabling it to withstand direct exposure to flame. The sculpture must be constructed so that heat and fire are channeled upward through its form. After construction, the clay needs to dry thoroughly—a process that takes about a month depending on humidity. For high-temperature firings, the sculpture is surrounded by a mobile kiln shell made from ceramic fiber insulation, allowing the kiln to be removed so the glowing sculpture can be revealed. The durability of the finished work depends on the strength of the clay structure and the peak temperature achieved during the firing—it can become significantly more weather-resistant.
Historically, Denmark has produced two internationally recognized pioneers in the field of firing sculptures: Nina Hole (1941–2016) and Jørgen Hansen (born 1945). From around 1995 to 2017, both artists realized large-scale firing sculpture projects across the world. Today, Guldagergaard in Skælskør continues the tradition, annually inviting an international ceramic artist to create a firing sculpture in connection with the midsummer celebration of Sankt Hans.
I believe firing sculptures hold immense potential across artistic and social contexts—particularly in the performative, dramaturgical, and ritual dimensions embedded in their building, firing, and revealing. The process invites local engagement and co-creation through the construction and firing phases, and the site-specific placement becomes a crucial part of the experience. When the kiln is opened and the sculpture is revealed in glowing heat, these elements merge into a powerful unity.
In that moment, something magical occurs: the audience feels the intense heat radiating from the sculpture and sees its glowing surface shimmer through hues of gold, orange, and red. If you listen closely, you can even hear the quiet harmony of crackling as the clay cools—a beautiful, sensory, and ephemeral experience.
In that moment, something magical occurs: the audience feels the intense heat radiating from the sculpture and sees its glowing surface shimmer through hues of gold, orange, and red. If you listen closely, you can even hear the quiet harmony of crackling as the clay cools—a beautiful, sensory, and ephemeral experience.
contact:
mortenplesner.art [@] gmail.com
Instagram: @mortenplesner
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This site is constantly under construction︎
©Morten plesner 2025