Therese Hald Boesen works at the intersection of design and artistic practice. She investigates the traces embedded within materials as a means of understanding place and cultural context. Through graphic experiments and material-based narratives, she creates works in which texture, layering, and sensuality are central elements. Her method balances between the gesture of the hand and the material’s own language, connecting aesthetic investigations with reflections on time, place, and sustainability.
My practice exists between art and design and is rooted in material-based investigations, where imprint and transfer are used to register transformation and time. I work through slow, process-oriented, and archival methods, treating materials as both image-forming layers and carriers of knowledge. Methodologically, my practice is grounded in a phenomenological understanding of space and material, where materials themselves function as a mode of artistic inquiry. Through repeated acts of imprinting, I investigate how control gradually shifts from intention to material, and how the material’s own movement becomes a co-creator of the work.
In my practice, I employ design-based methods such as systematics, serial thinking, and structural composition to establish frameworks that are subsequently altered through the material’s own agency. I work deliberately with slow, repetitive processes in a time shaped by acceleration and optimisation.
Materiality as Care constitutes the theoretical and methodological core of my practice. Care is not a theme, but rather a way of working through maintenance, attentiveness, and slowness. As a method, Materiality as Care proposes that the temporality of materials can shape human perception and attention.
Production within my practice emerges through a slow accumulation between control and contingency. I consistently work in two distinct phases: an open, repetitive, and non-goal-oriented phase of investigation, followed by a rigorous, selective, and restrained phase of presentation.
My practice is developed across different geographies and sites. Previous projects in Rome and at Statens Værksteder for Kunst have established a methodological foundation that I continue to develop through upcoming investigations in 2026.
In 2026, I will continue this line of inquiry through projects in Athens focused on traces in marble, at Gammel Have through investigations of the liminal state of patinated zinc plates, and through limestone studies at Faxe Limestone Quarry in collaboration with Rosa Prichard. These projects examine differences in resistance, saturation, and transformation.
Alongside my artistic practice, I work with exhibition design as a means of translating knowledge into space through materials, rhythm, and light, guiding audiences through processes of transformation and change.
Collaborations
Torden og Lynild, Freelance exhibitionsdesigner, 2025
Working on competition proposals for Bryggekulturens Hus and Ribe Vikingecenter.
New entrance building for Ribe Vikingecenter
Developed the spatial concept for an exhibition project selected for realization. The work was based on initial hand sketches from the studio owner outlining the main flow and thematics, which I expanded and refined into a coherent 300 m2 exhibition environment with reorganized thematic zones, clear zoning, narrative structure, and visitor flow.
Responsible for building the full 3D model, spatial arrangement, lighting setup, and preparation of visualization material for the final competition presentation, and contributed to the material strategy. The work formed part of the development of the arrival area, foyer, and the main exhibition for a new entrance building.
Actum Design & Tryk, freelance RISO-print, photographer, SoMe, 2024-now
At Actum I work with risograph printing, social media, video and photo-documentation of projects as well as smaller graphic design tasks. Actum produces a wide range of small publications and artist books, collaborating with artists and designers. They have techniques such as letterpress, risograph and riso-inkjet, reflecting a practice that balances traditional craftsmanship with experimental, contemporary approaches to printmaking. Run by Louise Hold Sidenius and Lisa Palka
Sara Martinsen, Designassistent, 2025
Assisting designer and artist Sara Martinsen on a project for Velux.
Astrid Krogh Design, Freelance designer/architect, 2022
Assisting in design development and did production of drawing material for proposals for site-specific spatial artworks; Novo Nordisk (Life is anything but linear and everything (is) connected) og Finanstilsynet (‘Gryn’møllen, Strandgade 29)
JAC Studios, Exhibition Designer Intern, 2021
Architecture and design studio with focus on exhibition design with a foundation in architecture, scenography and art. Work included taking part in the conceptual, development and installation phase of projects. Gained experience with museological storytelling and collaboration with curatorial teams.
Sketch proposal for an exhibition at Blåvandshuk lighthouse, Nationalpark Vadehavet
Sketch design, Rhino production drawings and actual production of exhibition furnitures for the exhibition "Love" at Thorvaldsens Museum, Copenhagen
I: I illustrations for full scale mock-ups at Tekniska Museet in Stockholm
Royal Danish Academy, Social Facilitator
Facilitated online activities supporting the study environment during the Covid-19 pandemic. The focus was on organizing communication between students, teachers and administration as well as maintaining the team spirit during the lock-down.
Teaching
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, part-time Art Communicator/ educator (Kunstformidler), 2022-2023
Teaching and developing workshops within artistic creation. The intention is to make both children and adults familiar with art through dialogue-based communication, co-creational processes and direct material encounters, where techniques, material and form can be explored.
- Development and facilitation of a drawing school (ages 7–11) and UngAkademi (7th-10th grade)
- Acted as the point of contact between student assistants and permanent staff, ensuring clear communication (“representative for external staff”).
- Handled social media tasks, including light content planning and documentation (photo/video)
ArtLab Helsingør (BGK), Guest Lecturer, 2021
Facilitated a two-day workshop in spatial design with Rosa Prichard. The students designed a pavilion intended to encourage social interaction.
Børnekulturhus Ama'r, Instructor, 2022
Taught architecture classes for half a season.
Education
MA in Spatial Design, The Royal Danish Academy. 2019-2021
Focus on the relationship between architecture, design, and people, explored from historical, anthropological, and material/tectonic perspectives.
BA in Furniture Design, The Royal Danish Academy, 2016-2019
Furniture design in relation to body and context, with strong attention to tectonics, detail, and the Danish design tradition.
Exchange Program, Royal Academy of Art, The Hague (KABK), 2018
Six-month exchange in Furniture and Interior Architecture. Program emphasizes critical and independent design practice based on experimentation and research.
Exchange Program, Bergen National Academy of the Arts (KHiB), 2017
Three-week course in textile printing techniques through the CIRRUS Network.
Billedkunstnerisk Grundkursus (BGK), 2013-2016
Three-year preparatory program for higher art education, focused on developing an authentic artistic profile.
Grants and Recognitions
Knud Højgaards Fond, Project grant, 2026
Grosserer L. F. Foghts Fond, Project grant, 2026
Den Hielmstierne-Rosencroneske Foundation, Working grant, 2025
Statens Værksteder for Kunst, Artist residency, 2025
Statens Kunstfond, Project grant, 2022
Det Danske Institut i Rom, Residency and scholarship, 2022
Dreyers Fond, Project grand, 2022
FSC Design Award, Finalist, 2017
Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
Corrosion of Matter, Foyer, The Danish Art Workshops (SVFK) , May 2026
Selected Group Exhibitions
UKURANT Objects, Krabbesholm Højskole, 2020
UKURANT Objects, 3 Days of Design, Copenhagen, 2020
TEGN 2, Janusbygningen, 2016