About Katherine Wheeler
Katherine is an Australian artist, who works from her home studio in Castlemaine, Victoria. Her work is often found at the Finder’s Keepers, and The Big Design Markets, in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, as well as selected retail outlets in Australia.
Katherine trained at RMIT University, with a bachelor of gold and silversmithing and a diploma of visual arts.
Having a dad who is a potter meant she grew up hand building with clay, and has now combined her artistic background with ceramics, creating detailed hand-built, bespoke jewellery, vessels and planters.
Katherine is known for her ‘coral’ porcelain rings, which are all unique, and one of a kind. Each of her pieces is textures or hand painted with ceramic underglazes, making sure you get a truly original item.
The hand painted designs and editioned Giclee prints reflect the subtle details, colours and patterns in the natural environment, and reflect Katherine's love of beach combing.
All pieces are one of a kind, made with the utmost care, and with the intention that the right person will find, fit and treasure their chosen item for years to come.
Katherine completed a diploma of visual arts, at RMIT in 2003, and a Bachelor of Visual arts, Gold and SIlversmiting in 2007, also at RMIT.
katherinewheeler@live.com.au for any enquiries.
Atypical Echinoid Study, 2013 porcelain, fine silver, thread, adhesive, paint
2016, porcelain, thread, adhesive, paint
'Creep' 2008, porcelain, fine silver, thread, adhesive, paint
'Amoeboid teapot' 2007, porcelain, fine silver, thread, adhesive, paint
CV: Katherine Wheeler
Education
Diploma of Visual arts, RMIT University 2003
Bachelor of Arts (Fine Art) Gold and Silversmithing, RMIT University, 2007
Solo Exhibitions
2018 ‘Periphery’ Paper Boat Press Gallery, Ashgrove, Brisbane
2016 ‘Summer Drift’ Living Arts Space, Bendigo visitor experience centre, Victoria
2013 Hollow Adaption, Objectspace, New Zealand
2012 Introductory exhibition, Gallery Aloft, Roselle, Sydney
2010 Hidden Facets, Hand Held Gallery, Melbourne Australia. Travelled to –
Gaffa Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Selected Group
2009 Melbourne Hollow Ware, Gallery Marzee, Nijmejen, The Netherlands
Melbourne Hollow Ware, RMIT School of art gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2011 The Art of Engagement, Objectspace, Auckland, New Zealand
2011 Love Lace, The powerhouse Museum, Sydney NSW, Australia
2011 Toowoomba contemporary wearables award, Toowomba regional art gallery,
Queensland, Australia.
2012 SOFA Chicago & SOFA New York, hollow ware work represented by Charon
Kransen arts, New York
2012 It’s Got Legs 2012, RMIT School of Art Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2012-2013 Containment, Cicily and Colin Rigg Contemporary Design Award 2012, Ian
Potter Centre, NGV, Melbourne, Australia
2013 Signature Style, Craft, Flinders Lane, Melbourne, Australia (Exhibition to tour
regional galleries throughout 2013 & 2014.)
2013 Contemporary Silver and Metalwork Award, Bendigo Regional Art Gallery, Victoria,
Australia
2013 The Waterhouse Natural Science art Prize, South Australian Museum, Adelaide,
South Australia.
2013 Beyond precious… beyond the ocean contemporary jewellery from Australia and
New Zealand, Museum of Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France
2013 Precious thoughts , 2013/2104, Jewellery from Australia, San Rocco Oratorio, Padua
Italy.
2015 Spring Sculpture Prize, Lot 19 art space, Castlemaine
2016, A5 Show, Lot 19 Art space, Castlemaine
2016 Contemporary Porcelain, Ten Australian Masters, Kerrie Lowe Gallery, Sydney
2016. Form/Surface/Structure, Kerrie Lowe Gallery, Sydney
2016 Spring sculpture prize, lot 19 art spcace Castlemaine, Victoria
2016 ‘Of Land and Sea’ Peanut Gallery, Adelaide
2017 Spring Sculpture prize, Lot 19 art space, Castlemaine
2017 ‘Victorian Craft Award, Craft Victoria
Selected Awards
2007- Wolf Wennrich Award for craft excellence in Gold and Silversmithing.
2007- Lab 3000 Best of the best 07 design awards, Prize in fashion and textile design
category
2010- Artstart Grant recipient, the Australia Council.
2103- Highly Commended, The Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize
2016- Lot 19 Spring sculpture prize, indoor sculpture.
2016-Art supplies Castlemaine Award (Lot 19 Spring Sculpture Prize Castlemaine)
2017- Ceramic Award, The Victorian Craft Awards
Selected Collections
W.E.Macmillan RMIT Gold and Silversmithing collection.
Gallerie Marzee Collection, the Netherlands
Private collections world wide.
Bibliography
Books
A skilled hand and cultivated mind- a guide to architecture and art of RMIT University, 2nd
edition 2012 Edquist, Harriet and Grierson, Elizabeth RMIT University press. ISBN
0781921426988
Exhibition catalogues
Topos Nochos RMIT Gold and Silversmithing Graduate Exhibition 2007, 2007 RMIT
University press ISBN 13:978-1-921166-79-2
Melbourne Hollow Ware, RMIT University School of Art, 2009, ISBN 13:978-1-921426-30-
8
Contemporary Silver and Metalwork Exhibition, 2011 catalogue. Buda Historic Home and
Garden, 42 hunter st Castlemaine. ISBN 978-0-9757508-5-8
Love Lace, Powerhouse Museum International Lace Award, Edited by Lindie Ward,
Powerhouse Publishing, July 2011 ISBN: 9781863171540
Containment -Cicely and Colin Rigg Contemporary Design Award , 2012 the council of
trustees of the national gallery of victoria, 180 st Kilda Rd, Melbourne Victoria ISBN 1448-
3157
Signature Style catalogue, curators Nella Themelios and Kim Brockett, 2013 ISBN 978-0-
646-59548-1
Contemporary Australian Silver and Metalwork Award 2013, Needham, Clare. Bendigo
Art Gallery ISBN 9780949215727
Editorials
The Art of Hollow ware, ‘True to Nature’s Form’, The Age – Life and style, Gina Morris July
2011
Fetish-like objects and nature inspired conceptual pieces have replaced diamonds as a
girl’s best friend. Finding inspiration at the Collect fair in London and at online community
Klimt02, tl.mag presents a selection of favourite contemporary jewellery designers.
Compiled by Jasmijn Verlinden, TL magazine, issue #11,July 2011
Metal, porcelain, thread and so much more. Viv Markham, The Tarrengower Times, June
15th 2011.
Katherine forges on, A Castlemaine artist is creating a fine impression, Johannah Legatt,
The Weekly Times, May 29 2013 CV: Katherine Wheeler
Article from The Age,
The Art of Hollow ware, ‘True to Nature’s Form’, The Age – Life and style, Gina Morris July 2011
The Art of Hollow Ware
Katherine Wheeler’s Amoeboid Teapot. Photo: Rodger Cummins
KATHERINE Wheeler is an artist motivated by simple things. A piece of textured rock, a beautifully shaped teapot, lichen growing on a tree branch or weeds sprouting from concrete. Mostly, though, the motivation for her jewellery and hollowware comes from the simple, pure pleasure of ”making”.
”I just enjoy it,” Wheeler says. ”The thrill of changing pristine and mundane mediums into something totally unique and pushing different ideas or methods keeps me interested in making work.”
Her beguiling and spectral pieces, made predominantly from metal melded with porcelain and crochet thread, reflect and explore what she calls ”the fragility and ephemeral nature of life, mortality and the cycle of life”. Her hollowware, while alluding to the notion of a functional vessel such as a vase or a teapot, often references extinct marine life and intricate, ancient fossils.
”The forms I make have an anthropomorphic nature,” Wheeler says.
”The textures and characteristics remind the viewer of the amazing creatures we share an existence with.”
In nominating the one item she is most proud of, Wheeler elects herAmoeboid Teapot from 2009. ”It was shown at Galerie Marzee in the Netherlands and then purchased by the director, Marie-Jose van den Hout, for their permanent collection,” she says. ”To me, it demonstrated that my work has the capacity and standard to be valued internationally.”
Though her sculptural objects are intended for ornamental enjoyment, much of her jewellery is designed for daily use. She is now producing an even more practical, functional and ”fun” range of porcelain jewellery (as well as a series of small bowls). Though she aims to keep the two separate, last year she co-founded Goldenink Collaborative with her friend, artist and printmaker Abby Seymour, to forge one-off pieces of ”wearable art”.
Since discovering silversmithing in 2004 and mastering ”the language” of soldering metal (her lecturer’s term), Wheeler has continued along a devious path of spontaneity. ”There is a real kind of preciousness about planning, technique and doing things the ‘right’ way in gold and silversmithing,” she says. ”Which I respect but once I realised that it was OK for me to ‘break the rules’, I felt much more freedom.”
For commissions and inquiries, see katherinewheeler.com.au.