Krebs-Nencki, Hannah Helena, ceramicist, artist, Bern

Pottery made by Hannah Krebs-Nencki in CERAMICA CH

Andreas Heege, 2022

Hanni (Hannah Helena) Nencki was born into a doctor’s family in Belp in 1903. Her artistic and musical talent came to the fore from an early age. She studied at the Klösterlistutz School of Ceramics in Bern, initially, it seems, as a pottery paintress (Summer Semester 1921‒Winter Semester 1923/24; for a list of students see Messerli 2017). She went on to work for the Ceramic Workshop Hans Schuppmann GmbH in Harlaching near Munich, where she learnt how to throw and fire pottery.

Hanni Nencki in her younger years (photo from family archive).

This was followed by a trip to Paris where she studied under Fernand Léger (1881-1955, a renowned French painter) and André Lhote (1885-1962, a French painter, sculptor and expert in the theory of cubism). At the 6^th competition run by the sales cooperative of the Swiss Heritage Society in 1925, she won 1^st prize in the pottery category ahead of ceramicists like Adolf Schweizer from Steffisburg, Amata Good from Zurich or Adolf Zahner from Rheinfelden (NZZ, Issue 1747, 6^th November 1925). In October 1926, she exhibited a small sample of her ceramics at the Bären Restaurant in Sumiswald (Der BUND 77, Issue 46, 28^th October 1926). In December 1926, some of her ceramics were put on display at the Christmas Exhibition of the Bern Group of the Werkbund and favourably reviewed in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper (NZZ, Issue 2083, 18^th December 1926).

A fairly long period of collaboration with the Swedish designer Arthur Carlsson Percy (1886‒1976) subsequently prompted her to work for the Gefle Porcelain Factory (1910‒1979) in Sweden. At the time, Percy was one of Sweden’s leading ceramic designers.

In 1930, she took part in the ceramic exhibition held to celebrate “25 Years of the Bern School of Ceramics” (Der BUND newspaper, 4^th July 1939, StAB BB 1.9.34, newspaper cuttings).

In 1932, Hanni Nencki displayed some of her ceramics at the March Exhibition of the Bern Section of the Gesellschaft Schweizerischer Malerinnen, Bildhauerinnen und Kunstgewerblerinnen (Swiss Society of Female Painters, Sculptors and Craftswomen) in Bern. Other exhibitors included Gertrud Meister-Zingg, Helene Imbert und Amata Good (NZZ newspaper, Issue 440, 9^th March 1932).

This was followed by another study visit to France.

In December 1933, she joined Jakob Hermanns, Margrit Linck-Daepp, Clara Vogelsang and I. Mäusli in exhibiting ceramics at the Werkbund Exhibition in the Museum of Applied Arts in Bern (NZZ newspaper, Issue 2267, 13^th December 1933).

Newspaper article 1942

Hanni moved to Bern in 1944 when she married the architect Werner Krebs, who was from there (1895‒1990, obituary in Werk, Bauen + Wohnen 77, 1990, Issue 12, 81‒82). She set up a workshop as a painter, potter (she was a member of the Werkbund and sat on the board) and musician (she was also a member of the Bern Conservatoire and Chamber Orchestra).

The electric kiln remained in the basement of the house until her death (photo from family archive).

We have records of the following ceramic exhibitions:

1945 Toy competition (Das Werk : Architektur und Kunst = L’oeuvre : architecture et ar,t, Band 32, 1945, 84).

1952 Genf, 20. Ausstellung Schweizerischer Malerinnen, Bildhauerinnen und Kunstgewerblerinnen (Zeitschrift für Schweizerische Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte 43, 1986, 453).

1954 Kunsthalle in Bern, Craftwork Exhibition (Der Bund newspaper, Volume 105, Issue 213, 9^th May 1954)

1955 Bern, 21. Ausstellung Schweizerischer Malerinnen, Bildhauerinnen und Kunstgewerblerinnen (Zeitschrift für Schweizerische Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte 43, 1986, 453).

1956 Bern Museum of Applied Arts, “Neue Schweizer Keramik” [New Swiss Pottery], in collaboration with Edouard Chapallaz, Benno and Eva Geiger, Margrit Linck, Mario Mascarin, Fritz Portner and Ursula Schmälzle (Der Bund newspaper, Volume 107, Issue 529, 11^th November 1956).

1958 Gallerie Bertram, Burgdorf (Schweizer Frauenblatt : Organ für Fraueninteressen und Frauenkultur Bd. 37, 1958, 3, 19. Dezember 1958).

1958 Zürich (SAFA), 22. Ausstellung Schweizerischer Malerinnen, Bildhauerinnen und Kunstgewerblerinnen (Zeitschrift für Schweizerische Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte 43, 1986, 453).

1959 Ostende, II. Kongress der Internationalen Keramik-Akademie bzw. Gmunden, Oberösterreich (Mitteilungsblatt Keramik-Freunde der Schweiz 45, 1959, 10.

1960 Luzern, 23. Ausstellung Schweizerischer Malerinnen, Bildhauerinnen und Kunstgewerblerinnen (Schweizer Frauenblatt : Organ für Fraueninteressen und Frauenkultur, Band 39, 1960, 3, 1. Juli 1960.

1964 Bern, 25. Ausstellung Schweizerischer Malerinnen, Bildhauerinnen und Kunstgewerblerinnen (Zeitschrift für Schweizerische Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte 43, 1986, 453).

1966 Showcase of the Gesellschaft Schweizerischer Malerinnen, Bildhauerinnen und Kunstgewerblerinnen (Swiss Society of Female Painters, Sculptors and Craftswomen) in the arcade next to the Kornhauskeller Restaurant: Neue Keramische Arbeiten [New Ceramic Works] (Der Bund newspaper, Volume 117, Issue 70, 20^th February 1966).

1966 Exhibition of the Gesellschaft Schweizerischer Malerinnen, Bildhauerinnen und Kunstgewerblerinnen (Swiss Society of Female Painters, Sculptors and Craftswomen) in the Bern Gallery (Der Bund newspaper, Volume 117, Issue 255, 4^th July 1966).

1967 Showcase of the Gesellschaft Schweizerischer Malerinnen, Bildhauerinnen und Kunstgewerblerinnen (Swiss Society of Female Painters, Sculptors and Craftswomen) in the arcade next to the Kornhauskeller Restaurant: Neue Keramische Arbeiten [New Ceramic Works] (Der Bund newspaper, Volume 118, Issue 174, 18^th June 1967).

1971 Exhibition of the Gesellschaft Schweizerischer Malerinnen, Bildhauerinnen und Kunstgewerblerinnen (Swiss Society of Female Painters, Sculptors and Craftswomen) in the Kunsthalle in Bern (Bieler Tagblatt newspaper, Issue 70, 25^th March 1971).

1976 Exhibition in the counter hall of the Gewerbekasse bank in Bern (Der Bund newspaper, Volume 127, Issue 101, 2^nd May 1976).

Sculptural work in the studio (photo from family archive).

Describing some of her work, the obituary reads: “The energetic shape of the leaves in her paintings also worked its magic on her well-crafted ceramics. Abstract designs were combined with blooming natural forms”.

Hanni Krebs-Nencki died on 10^th November 1986 in Bern (Death Notice). For an obituary with biographical information see: Der Bund, Volume 137, Issue 288, 9^th December 1986