Anders Ruhwald, Artist-in-Residence and Head of the Ceramics Department at Cranbrook Academy of Art will be honored today in Denmark with an Ole Haslund Artist Foundation honorary award. This annual award recognizes significant Danish artists for their contribution and accomplishments in the field of art and design.

A leading Danish ceramic artist, Ruhwald was named Artist-in-Residence and Head of the Ceramics Department at Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2008. Ruhwald is best known for his conceptual work and is considered a brilliant and skilled craftsman and talented sculptor whose practice revolves around direct, hands-on engagement with clay.

Ruhwald was born in Denmark, and was educated at the Glass and Ceramics School in Bornholm, Denmark, and the Royal College of Art in London. In March of 2009, Ruhwald received a $30,000 grant from Danish Arts Foundation. He was awarded the Sotheby Prize from the Victoria & Albert Museum in London in 2007. In 2005, he received the Anni and Otto Detlefs Award for young, experimental ceramic artists from the Museum of Art and Design in Denmark, and in 2002, he was awarded first place in the Danish Biennale for Craft and Design. Ruhwalds work is also represented in the permanent collections of: The Victoria and Albert Museum; The Swedish National Museum; The Danish Museum of Art and Design; and The National Museum of Decorative Arts, Norway.

Long one of the nation's highest-ranked graduate programs, the Ceramics Department at Cranbrook under the leadership Ruhwald offers a research environment leading students to question the boundaries of the ancient tradition of working in clay through new technologies, practices and theoretical discipline. Ruhwald leads a program that has featured a great heritage of well-known ceramic artists including: Tony Hepburn, Maija Grotel, Toshiko Takeazu, Jun Kaneko, and Richard De Vore.

About Cranbrook Academy of Art:

Founded in 1932, the Cranbrook Academy of Art is the country's top-ranked independent, preeminent graduate level school of art, design, and architecture. Offering an intense studio-based experience, artists-in-residence mentor students in art, architecture, and design to creatively influence contemporary culture. The program offers both Master of Fine Arts degrees are offered in nine disciplines including: 2D Design, 3D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metal, Painting, Photography, Printmaking and Sculpture and a Master of Architecture degrees. Cranbrook is an internationally renowned educational community dedicated to excellence in the arts, education and science. Cranbrook Educational Community is located at 39221 Woodward Avenue in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and comprises the Academy of Art, Art Museum, Institute of Science, Schools and other affiliated cultural and educational programs. For more information, call (248) 645-3300 or visit the web site at www.cranbrookart.edu.