Gunvor Anhøj.
Gunvor was born in Denmark in 1973. She hails from a family of engineers and priests so perhaps it is no surprise she ended up a sculptor of metal.
Her first memory of metal was it’s distinct smell visiting her granddad’s workshop on the West Coast of Denmark. Her first meeting with iron as a tool, was when required to plough the fields the old way with horses and a one-furrow plough.
She trained initially as a horticulturist, however her intrigue with metal, and the tradition of the blacksmith steered her towards a second degree in the Hereford College of Art and Design.
Gunvor composes her sculptures using a minimal amount of components which she assembles in a way that suggest a childish or informal creation. Her work is dramatic yet playful. To retain a sense of the human touch – which can be otherwise absent in large scale metal sculpture – Gunvor purposely leaves her maker’s marks in the form of heavy surface texture.
“Forging metals vs casting them facilitates a short moment in the making where the material – through heat – is at its most malleable, and whatever tool impacts the surface at this time makes a permanent impression. This creates an ‘impact texture’ which captures the unrefined earthiness of the raw material”
Gunvor shares a stdio and forge with her husband Michael Calnan – himself an award winning Sculptor – on the beautiful demesne of Russborough House, Co. Wicklow.
She has received several Awards including
– the Mill Cove Award (2015), awarded for A Sculpture of Distinction by the Mill Cove Gallery at the Sculpture in Context Exhibition – The largest and most prestigious outdoor Sculpture in Ireland.
– Certificate of Merit in the Recognition of Excellence, Royal Dublin Society (2011)
– First Prize at The National Craft Awards, Traditional metalwork Category.
– And the Stanly Allcard Cup, The Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths (1999) for Outstanding Ability in the Traditional Craft of the Blacksmith.
Commissions include:
The Department of Foreign Affairs Art collection, and The St. Patrick Award for Peace in Ireland (Commissioned by the New York St. Patricks Day Foundation) in 2016 – it was awarded to Senator George J. Mitchell and 7 others.
