Jacob Egeberg: Material Fossils and the Geologic Future

The studio of Jacob Mathias Egeberg in Copenhagen operates less like a traditional design atelier and more like a laboratory for material transmutation. Since graduating from the Royal Danish Academy in 2020, Egeberg has positioned himself at the vanguard of a generation that refuses the binary between the industrial and the organic. His work is marked by a deep, almost archaeological curiosity about how human-made systems, from digital waste to automotive aesthetics, intersect with the slow, tectonic pace of the natural world. In Egeberg’s universe, a discarded computer mouse or a piece of industrial foam is not merely trash; it is a potential fossil, waiting to be encased in the resin or bronze of a coming era.

For Edition Solenne, Egeberg has moved toward a more primal material language, engaging with three of the most historically significant substances in the history of art: bronze, marble, and glass. This transition indicates a shift from the vibrant, high-gloss synthetic finishes of his earlier solo exhibitions toward what might be called a 'geological turn.' While his early work often used automotive paints to lend an alien finish to organic geometries, his latest editions for the gallery find their power in the inherent gravity of the medium. The works presented here do not just occupy space; they appear to have emerged from it through processes of extreme heat, pressure, or erosion.

The conversation between the artist and the gallery has resulted in a collection that balances Egeberg’s penchant for storytelling with a rigorous dedication to craft. By partnering with historic foundries and workshops across Europe, from the glass blowers of Denmark to the marble carvers of the Apuan Alps, Egeberg bridges the gap between digital-age conceptualism and the ancient knowledge of the hand. His objects serve as 'storytelling devices,' as he describes them, which prompt us to reconsider our relationship with the materials that build our world, particularly those that are often overlooked or discarded in the rush of contemporary consumption.

Origins and the Anthropocene

Born in Denmark in 1992, Jacob Mathias Egeberg’s path was shaped by a dual education in Industrial Design and Spatial Design. He completed his Bachelor’s degree before pursuing a Master of Arts at the Royal Danish Academy, graduating into the uncertainty of 2020. This academic background provided him with a technical fluency in industrial processes, yet his creative impulse has always been to subvert the standardized output of the factory. Rather than pursuing the clean, utilitarian lines often associated with Danish design, Egeberg’s work from the outset leaned toward the expressive and the atmospheric.

His early projects received international attention for their vibrant, often confrontational use of color and texture. Egeberg recognized early on that the domestic interior was a space of untapped narrative potential. His work did not just seek to furnish a room; it sought to transform the room’s psychological frequency. This was evidenced in his exhibition 'Natural Futurism' at Etage Projects in 2019, where he presented translucent chandeliers made of plexiglass and sand, and sculptural objects finished in automotive lacquer. Even then, the seeds of his current practice were visible: the blending of the synthetic and the elemental to create what he called a 'futuristic art-nouveau aesthetic.'

In his series 'Digital Grounding,' Egeberg explicitly addressed the era of the Anthropocene. The exhibition featured sculptural yet functional objects that incorporated defunct electrical appliances, power cables, and computer peripherals. These items were wrapped in smooth, monochrome surfaces, effectively fossilizing the digital waste of our era. Egeberg’s goal was to recreate nature's geological processes by encapsulating the rapid obsolescence of our technology. By doing so, he prompts a discussion on how we stay 'grounded' in a culture of excessive throw-away habits. This conceptual foundation continues to inform his work with Edition Solenne, where the permanence of bronze and stone acts as a counterpoint to the fleeting nature of the digital world.

The Practice: Space and Scale

Egeberg’s practice is not limited to the pedestal. He has developed a reputation for major retail and spatial commissions that treat architecture as a sculptural medium. For the brand RAINS, Egeberg designed flagship stores across Copenhagen, Milan, New York, and Paris. In the Paris Rue Saint-Sulpice location, he created a massive sculpture featuring a rock-like form with an aluminum skin. This work provided the store with an evocative 'space within a space,' a gateway that felt both natural and entirely alien. It is this ability to scale his vision, from a desktop lamp to a multi-city retail identity, that distinguishes his approach to object design.

In his furniture work, such as the desk chairs created for Tableau Gallery or the 'Confession' chandelier, Egeberg often critiques cultural tropes. The latter, a heavy mass that he described as representing 'toxic masculinity' and 'car culture,' used automotive parts to explore social anxiety and the search for identity through consumption. Whether he is working with sand, glass, or steel, Egeberg remains interested in the 'unfamiliar' form. He seeks to create objects that are inextricably tied to how a space is experienced, yet appear to have arrived from a different dimension or a distant, post-human future.

References and Influences

The influences on Egeberg’s work are predictably diverse, ranging from Art Nouveau’s organic curves to the brutalist architecture of the mid-twentieth century. However, his most consistent reference is the material world itself in various states of transition. He is fascinated by the 'raw, transformative moment' where substances change state, where solid becomes liquid, or where biological matter becomes stone. This interest places him in a lineage of artists who use material as a metaphor for the passage of time and the impact of human presence on the planet.

Art-historically, one can see echoes of the 'Object Lesson' in his work, where the function of a piece is secondary to the story it tells about its own making. There is a clear dialogue with the Post-Minimalist movement, particularly in how he allows the physical properties of his materials, the weight of bronze, the translucency of glass, to dictate the final form. Yet, by incorporating digital waste or automotive finishes, he anchors these historical dialogues in the present. He looks at our 'throw-away culture' not with cynicism, but with a desire to preserve and re-envisage what we leave behind.

In Conversation: The Artist’s View

In discussions regarding his methodology, Egeberg emphasizes the idea of the work as a 'storytelling device.' He is less concerned with the traditional 'design problem' and more interested in the 'discussion' an object can prompt. For Egeberg, the act of making is a way of staying connected to the world around us, especially as we rely more heavily on digital devices for our social interactions. He seeks to create a physical grounding, a tactile reality that demands our attention through its surface, weight, and presence.

This philosophy is central to his work with Edition Solenne. By choosing materials like bronze and marble, he is engaging with substances that possess 'eternal life', or at least a longevity that far outstrips the human lifespan. This is a deliberate choice made to counter the 'rapid change' of our era. When Egeberg works with an Italian foundry like Fonderia Artistica Mariani, or the master carvers of Massimo Galleni, he is entering into a tradition where the object is meant to endure. This permanence allows the objects to act as true fossils of our time, carrying the marks of Egeberg’s hand and his conceptual concerns into the distant future.

The Works with Edition Solenne

The MOLTEN VASE represents perhaps the most visceral expression of Egeberg’s interest in material transformation. Cast in dark green patinated bronze at the Fonderia Artistica Mariani in Italy, the work is formed at the precise threshold where solid turns to liquid. The surface of the vase captures a sense of tension, as if the structure is in the middle of a slow, hot dissolution. It is a physical record of the transformative moment when bronze is heated to over a thousand degrees, liquefying and flowing before finally reclaiming its form as a solid alloy. The dark green patina adds a sense of ancient provenance, suggesting an object that has been recovered from the seafloor or an earth-bound cache.

The process behind the MOLTEN VASE is one of intense labor and fidelity to the artist’s original vision. Using the lost-wax casting method, Egeberg’s original form is captured in a flexible mold, from which a hollow wax replica is created and refined by hand. This wax is then encased in a ceramic shell and fired, allowing the wax to run out and the molten bronze to take its place. Every detail of the original's surface is thus hardened into a material that will outlast its maker. At 300 x 160 x 145 mm, the vase possesses a gravity and weight that few other materials can provide, making it a permanent addition to the collector's environment.

In the context of Egeberg’s broader oeuvre, the MOLTEN VASE serves as a bridge between his earlier interest in 'fluid' geometries and his newer focus on traditional art-historical materials. While the form is evocative of his 'Natural Futurism' phase, the medium of patinated bronze grounds it in a different historical lineage. It is a work that feels both like a futuristic artifact and a relic from a lost civilization. The edition of 14, plus artist’s proofs, ensures that each piece remains a rare and significant iteration of this material study.

QUARRY BOWL shifts the dialogue from heat to the architecture of the earth. Carved from Bianco C Marble in Pietrasanta, Italy, the bowl is an exercise in brutalist geometry. It is composed of a series of sharp pillars that evoke the monumental atmosphere of the marble quarry itself. Unlike the molten quality of the bronze works, the QUARRY BOWL is defined by removal; it is the result of a block being systematically stripped away until only the core intent remains. This direct connection between the material’s origin in the Apuan Alps and the final sculptural form creates an object of singular presence.

Working with the studio of Massimo Galleni, Egeberg utilizes the centuries-old Versilia tradition of hand-carving. The process begins with the selection of a specific block of marble, chosen for its grain, color, and lack of flaws. From there, master carvers reduce the mass using point and tooth chisels, establishing the volumes and proportions that Egeberg has specified. The final surface is refined with rasps and drills, moving from a coarse finish to a honed or matte texture that reveals the depth and veining of the stone. Each bowl is unique, as the natural variations in the marble ensure that no two editions are identical.

At 218 x 403 x 407 mm, the QUARRY BOWL is a significant piece of stone, weighing into the room with the authority of a classic fragment. Yet its geometric arrangement, the rhythmic repetition of the vertical pillars, is distinctly contemporary. It reflects Egeberg’s ability to take the 'brutal' elements of industrial structure and translate them into a material that has been in the ground for millions of years. This piece is not just a vessel; it is a spatial experience, a miniature architecture that invites the collector to contemplate the monumental scale of the landscape from which it was born.

LIQUID LIGHT brings Egeberg’s material exploration into the domain of glass and light. Produced at the historic Holmegaard glassworks in Denmark, this table lamp captures the movement of molten glass frozen in time. The thick, fluid form resembles droplets suspended in mid-air, a testament to the brief window of time in which glass is malleable. As the light passes through the solid glass, it is refracted and diffused, creating a luminous presence that Egeberg describes as both weightless and grounded. It is a work where sculpture and function merge seamlessly, the material itself acting as the primary medium of illumination.

The making of LIQUID LIGHT is a performance of timing and breath. At Holmegaard, which has produced glass since 1825, the glassblower gathers molten glass from the furnace and shapes it using hand tools and inflation while the material is still soft. Because glass is made in minutes but must be cooled carefully over hours to settle internal stresses, each lamp is a record of a specific moment of creation. No two pieces cool in quite the same way, meaning that each of the 14 editions carries the unique signature of the heat and the glassblower's movement. At 475 mm in height, the lamp has a substantial profile that commands attention in any interior.

In LIQUID LIGHT, we see Egeberg returning to his fascination with transparency and the 'organic geometry' that characterized his earlier work, such as the translucent chandeliers shown in Copenhagen. However, by working with a heritage institution like Holmegaard, he imbues the work with a sense of craft stability. The lamp is more than an aesthetic object; it is a storytelling device that speaks to the history of Scandinavian glassmaking while pushing its formal boundaries. It is a culmination of his master's training in spatial design and his innate curiosity about how light interacts with mass.

Closing: The Future of the Fossil

Jacob Egeberg’s work for Edition Solenne stands as a testament to the power of material gravity in a digital age. By moving from the ephemeral, the digital waste, the plastic, the automotive paint, into the enduring, the bronze, the marble, the mouth-blown glass, he is not abandoning his conceptual roots. Instead, he is strengthening them. He is a designer who understands that for an object to tell a story that lasts, it must be made of materials that can withstand the passage of centuries. In his hands, these materials do not feel like relics of the past; they feel like the foundation of a new, material-focused future.

Each of the works released with the gallery, the MOLTEN VASE, the QUARRY BOWL, and LIQUID LIGHT, represents a fundamental query into our relationship with the planet's resources. Egeberg asks us to look at the 'raw, transformative moment' of making and to find beauty in the tension between structure and dissolution. As a collector, to live with an Egeberg work is to hold a fragment of this inquiry, a physical 'grounding' that serves as a reminder of our own role as a geological force. At Edition Solenne, we are proud to present these editions as a definitive statement on the enduring power of the contemporary art object.