October 12, 2023

It has been almost two years since I got whirled into the whimsical world of Bjørn Wiinblad. In the past, I had seldom crossed paths with his art, although for Christmas one year, I bought a little trinket box for my mom as I thought it was quite cute. I have come to realize now that it belongs to the new wave of Rosendahl porcelain, which hit the market in 2014.

I am slightly embarrassed to admit that my knowledge was minimal, as others refer to him as the Hans Christian Andersen of the 20th century in Denmark. While my general interest in art has always been ancient, how could I not have known more about him? Well, better late than never, as they say.

It must, however, also mean that he somewhat disappeared from the public eye for a while, and just as Rosendahl launched their series, I moved to the US and missed him (almost) altogether in the stores. It has been stated that there probably isn’t a household in Denmark that doesn’t contain at least one item (whether it is a jar used for wooden spoons in the kitchen or it is sitting on the mantle, and you have it because you received it as a gift, inherited it, or purchased it yourself). These days, in flea markets around Denmark, Wiinblad items are easy to come by, and particularly, the early Nymølle plaques are found in abundance. Meanwhile, some of the large and unique ceramic items Wiinblad produced in his studio will easily sell for $500 - $10,000.

Following WWII, there was a strong desire for something cheerful and colorful, and Wiinblad’s art fit the bill. It seems Wiinblad once again is gaining attention in the public eye. Perhaps a few years with a pandemic and warfare across the globe requires a new burst of positiveness, just as it did some 80 years ago.

Two years ago, I discovered that a friend in Riverside, California, has a collection of more than 2,500 Wiinblad items. Some of these were exhibited at the Edward Dean Museum in Cherry Valley, California, from November 2021 through February 2022. I visited the exhibition in January of 2022 and was blown away by the number of objects on display, to which my friend replied, “Oh, this is just a fraction of what I own.”

Suddenly, it became personal! I got this sense that it all belonged to my Danish heritage, even though I did not recognize it. I felt compelled/obligated to assist my friend in creating an inventory, registering it all, and perhaps even disseminating and finding proper homes for some of these items.

Coming from an anthropological and art historical background, I ask many questions to understand the artists’ thoughts. Unlike the ancient materials I usually deal with, this project seemed more straightforward since the artist passed away in 2006, and surely there would be a wealth of written sources? That turned out to be less so; while there is art in abundance, information about the artist is scarcer. Essentially, just a handful of books exist, of which most were published in the last decade, including the catalogue for the Arken exhibition in 2015. That catalogue is among the only items to have been printed in English, finally allowing people who don’t speak Danish to gain some insight into the life and background of the renowned artist.

So, who was Bjørn Wiinblad? I am working on quite a comprehensive background project. Timelines exist elsewhere, and yet I wanted to make my own; I am mixing and merging from any source I can find, whether from publications or personal material to and from Wiinblad. The Timeline will be available in a work-in-progress format and will be updated as I learn more. I added a section on resources and a bibliography at the bottom of the document to assist anybody curious to learn more about Wiinblad.

I am also working on a character sheet, if you will - a list of the people who worked with Wiinblad or, in one way or another, were involved in his life - this is another comprehensive take-on and will not be ready to be shared just yet! But stay tuned, as it is thrilling to learn about all these people in his life!

I am additionally intrigued by how structured and organized Wiinblad was, which is evident in how he numbered his art pieces (yes, there are a few hiccups here and there, but all things considered, he did a marvelous job). Some of his early works, particularly the figurines, such as Aunty Ella or the musicians, started as #316 and #328, respectively, until the mid-1950s, when he finally was able to set up his own workshop and hired painters (usually ladies) to paint for him to help the now much in demand artist. Presumably, to make things easier, these items were systematically numbered, and when he had painted them, he would sign them with his own signature and sometimes a little ‘self-portrait doodle.’ When the painter ladies had painted them, you see a merged BW emblem sign. Always adding the year is also very helpful when trying to identify the development of his art over time. Something an archaeologist can only dream about.

I, of course, immediately began creating a list of these so-called typologies. I have finally made the list public in anticipation that other collectors will feel compelled to add to the gaps in the list. While the starting point was relatively comprehensive, even the most extensive collection will invariably have holes. Therefore, I am doing a bit of simple crowdsourcing and asking people to email me images of any types they may have that could assist in extending the list.

Over the last few years, I have searched high and low for any published material regarding Wiinblad. Since I have university access to online libraries, I have downloaded possibly close to every article published in the US about him (he seemed to be more popular outside of Denmark most of his life). I am sharing some of the online resources I have encountered at the bottom of the Timeline sheet.

Notably, the video with Bjørn Wiinblad is a treasure for any fan as so little with him exists, and hearing his own point of view on his grand production is just spectacular. I couldn’t believe my luck when I encountered it, which was a pure coincidence as I, in fact, was in pursuit of a Niels Bohr video… I picked out a few direct quotes and translated them for anybody who doesn’t read/speak Danish.

As with the ongoing ‘character sheet,’ another project I have taken on involves collecting information from all the books and write-ups and sorting them - restructuring - to give a different view of his life and accomplishments. - again - drawing on the anthropological approach rather than journalist methodology. These are long-term goals, and while I have quite a bit written up, I dare not put a date on when I might be able to share it!

I hope you have enjoyed reading a bit about the development of my Wiinblad project and that you can gain something from reading the documents I am developing.