Karen Cromwell

@karencromwell.studio

Karen Cromwell is a ceramic artist living and working on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country (ACT). Her hand-built vessels, created using traditional coiling and pinching methods, explore the historic and symbolic language of the vessel while incorporating sculptural elements. Cromwell’s textured surfaces—shaped through slips, oxides, resist, and water erosion—evoke weathered natural forms, resulting in works that appear both ancient and deeply personal.

Working in groups, Cromwell’s vessels often suggest familial or relational dynamics, their arrangements shifting between balance and tension. Each piece carries its own layered history, but together they speak to collective memory, presence, and transformation.

Karen holds a Bachelor of Fine Art (Drawing) from the Victorian College of the Arts and a Graduate Diploma in Art Education from the University of Melbourne. Alongside her artistic practice, she is an experienced arts educator, having delivered programs for schools, museums, galleries, and festivals.

Her career highlights include a residency at Ninuku Arts Centre on the APY Lands (SA) supported by an Arts ACT grant, and participation in the 2022 ‘Evolve’ mentorship program with ceramicist Amy Kennedy. Karen has exhibited widely across Australia and has been a finalist in major awards such as the Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award and the Libris Awards. Her work is held in public and private collections, including the Tweed Regional Gallery and Canberra Museum and Gallery.