We met Thor in his amazing sculpture Studio in Florence and we were able to find out many things about him and his sculptures … enjoy the reading!

Thor can you tell us about your first steps into the sculpture world?

“As a child I attended an elementary school, called Waldorf school where there is a different educational vision, each child can develop their own creativity thanks to many artistic activities. It is a sort of a high school, where sculpture was introduced to me. After I was done with the Waldorf school , I attended a basic course for jewellery-making, where I learnt how to make earrings, rings etc… then I took the stone carving education for four years, after that I realized that I wanted to become a sculptor. So I decided to move to Italy in 2011 and attended the Florence Academy of Art to continue my study. When I was done with the Academy I opened my own studio, in 2013”.

Do you prefer sculpting or making casts?

“I definitely prefer sculpting, but I think taking references and studying plaster casts can be helpful, especially as a new student, It’s good to start with, before working with a life model.”

Can you describe for us your creative process?

“I can get inspired by a lot of different things, but one of my favorite subjects is the Nordic mythology, I love the different characters. The beginning of a sculpture often happens with a idea and imagination of how one of the characters could look like. So when I find someone that matches my idea, I ask if they would like to sit for me.”

Tell us about your first experience with plaster casts.

“When I was studying as a stonemason I sometimes would visit a plaster school, where they taught students how to make plaster decorations. There in the evening we were allowed to play around with the plaster molds and make copies. That is my first memory with the casting. Later on I helped out in the workshop called Royal Cast Collection, in Copenhagen.”

What does art mean to you?

“Art to me is the means for people to feel something. I’m not necessarily trying to communicate a message with my art, it’s more a personal process and journey . But having an emotion with my art is important.“

Where do you get your commissions from?

“I receive most of my commissions from Denmark, sculpting monuments of famous Danish people, which are exhibited in streets and squares.“

What project are you working on now?

“Now I’m in the process of making a monument for Copenhagen, composed by three figures, which are the actors of a movie that are very well known in Denmark, Sweden Norway and Germany. The movie is called ‘The Olsen Gang’. At the moment I’m casting a little statue, also called a “maquette”, of the three figures, it’s sort of a sketch of the final sculpture, it’s made in the beginning to visualize the idea, and to get approval of the client. We a
are also selling them as part of the fundraising project.”

Do you have other commissions?

“Beside doing the commissions for Denmark and teaching, I also have a casts collection of plaster casts that I sell to academies, private collectors and people which are interested in having these for reference for painting or sculptures.”

What’s your opinion about life casting?

“I use them quite often, especially now when I’m doing a commission where I don’t have the option of having a model sitting for me..“

Who has inspired you most?

“I’m inspired by many different artists, from Rodin and Carpeaux to some Danish sculptors like Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen, who was also inspired by Nordic mythology. I really appreciated Rudolph Tegner, a Danish artist whose works of art were characterized by violent and expressive forms. I think Grzegorz Gwiazda is a great contemporary artist, because he is able to communicate a variety of concepts with different materials.“

We thank Thor very much for his time and for giving us the opportunity to discover what lies behind his fantastic world of sculpture!