Australian ceramist Kirsten Coelho works in porcelain creating functional forms and vessels of distilled and otherworldly perfection, which represent her preferred fusion of the formal with the abstract. Deeply grounded in North-Asian ceramic history and the powerful legacy of the British studio movement, her refined interpretations of humble domestic wares nevertheless possess a distinctly contemporary and Australian sensibility. Her work is held in numerous collections worldwide.

The monograph Kirsten Coelho by Wendy Walker was published in 2020. Signed copies are available in The Gallery and online – click here to view.

Read the recent review of Uncertain Cadence in Issue 317 of Ceramic Review here.

Kirsten Coelho

Born: 1966

Place of Birth: Denmark

Kirsten Coelho works in porcelain, producing reduction fired works that attempt to fuse the formal and the abstract. More recently her work has been influenced by nineteenth and early twentieth century enamel wares and and the abstracted surface possibilities these objects can show as they begin to age.

‘I have always felt drawn to the abstract in art – the potential for understanding through an ambiguous and imperceptible type of knowing. Ceramic objects communicate on many levels and it is these possibilities of engagement and response that I find compelling. The intersection of form, colour, tone and light are the constant drivers.’ Kirsten Coelho, 2015

Kirsten trained in Adelaide at the South Australian School of Art before moving to the UK in the early 1990’s where she worked for a number of years in a London Studio. Since returning to Australia in 1998, Kirsten Coelho has completed a Master of Visual Art at the South Australian School of Art. Kirsten now works from a studio at her home in Adelaide, South Australia.

Public collections include:

Chatsworth House, Derbyshire UK; National Gallery of Australia; Newcastle Art Gallery, Australia; Queensland Art Gallery GOMA, Australia; City of Hobart Tasmania, Australia; Drill Hall Australian National University Canberra ACT, Australia

Uncertain Cadence

Kirsten Coelho

Join our mailing list