Thrown into the World. Meet the Artist Eli Benveniste at Tings Lisbon

A Fortunate Stroke of Serendipity

In the true spirit of our collaboration, we’d love to welcome anyone who couldn’t make it to the opening—join us this

Friday from 6 to 7 PM

for a special chance to meet the artist herself before she leaves Portugal.

Annette & Thomas

Some time ago, our good friend and artist Charlotte Ritto told us about an inspiring ceramics workshop she attended in Italy—led by an incredible sculptor Eli Benveniste.

“I know her!” Annette exclaimed when she realized that Eli is short for Elisabeth. Turns out, they used to hang out back in the 80s.

“I knew her husband…” I added, recognizing Eli as the partner of Jørgen Haugen Sørensen—the legendary artist who passed away in 2021. Jørgen and I were a regulars at Den Røde, an iconic spot for Copenhagen’s gourmets and art lovers.

Charlotte also mentioned that Eli lives in Portugal, just two hours away from us in Castelo de Vide.

“She has a farmhouse in the mountains where she works with her art, looks after Jørgen’s and tends to her olive trees,” Charlotte explained.

In our world, talk and action are never far apart when the chemistry is right. So, after a few phone calls, a quick drive, and plenty of hugs and laughter, we decided to make something happen together.

A week ago, on May 22nd—almost exactly a year since we first met—we opened Thrown Into the World, featuring works by Eli Benveniste.

Eli’s original title for the show was A Fortunate Stroke of Serendipity.

We’re not sure why she changed it – maybe because of her and Jørgens encounter with Portugal (read below). But honestly, it sums up perfectly the joy and spontaneity that’s been part of this collaboration from the very first call to seeing her art on our walls at Tings.

Thomas

Crossing the border

Jørgen Haugen Sørensen and Eli Benveniste in their house in Vale de Rodão in the 90’ies Photo by Heine Pedersen

We drove from Pietrasanta in Italy, through the vast plateau of Spain and when we passed Trujillo, the landscape changed and began the long silent slope towards the Atlantic Ocean.

Crossing the border to Portugal we opened the car windows and took in the smell from all the wild herbs – and then we were home, in Vale de Ròdâo, the valley between Marvão and Castelo de Vide.

We bought the house in 1989 from a divorced Belgian, who had given up on “his farm” long before he had even started much.

It is not an easy task to accomplish anything in Alentejo. The sun, the rain, the building itself, the rocky landscape resists your efforts and all your good intentions. It seem as if the place prefers to be left alone. But our love was strong and insisting and over the next 25-30 Summers a new something was done every year.

Family and friends came by, fell in love, felt a sense of belonging to this magical place, the running fountain, the lake, the stream, the grazing sheep, the giant rocks on the mountainside.

Sculptures were also made here, mostly monumental. The nearby quarry of Alpalhão was already huge when we got there, but grew steadily both downwards and sideways, until “big” lost its meaning.

The people at the factory greeted us every year we came back – in some way we shared the same sad fate when Singranova had to close twenty years later.

Nevertheless, we stayed – replaced the stone with clay, and Jørgen drew beautiful drawings in the new studio I built for him. – That was my main task – to build, restore, plant and improve. I continued to pursue our old dream, the dream of childhood – demanding and beautiful, always in need of care and attention, but so generous.

I visit the cave at the bottom of the land where Jørgen rests.

All these years – just a single breath of the mountain. Nothing has changed since we first filled our nostrils with the spicy, fragrant air.

Eli Benveniste, 27 May, 2025