Steffen Dam
Denmark, b. 1961
Place of BirthDenmark
BiographySteffen Dam was born in 1961 in Denmark. He was trained as a toolmaker and worked a few years in the metal industry, but became interested in ceramics and glass. In 1985, with no formal training, he opened his first studio in Arhus--first focusing on ceramics and later on glass. He went on to study and experiment with various glass techniques, including at Dale Chihuly's Pilchuck glass school in Seattle, Washington. He currently operates a studio near Ebeltoft, Denmark, with his wife, glass artist Micha Karlslund. Dam's work is characterized by mysterious organic forms that evoke a fictive biology. He is inspired by natural history and the attempt to organize and quantify the natural world, an interest that stems from his childhood experience with his grandparents' insect cabinets and books. Through his glass panels and specimen jars he creates new representations of strangely familiar shapes, depicting man's encounter with the inner life of nature.
