Iron in the Soul

摘要

The cool perfection of classical Chinese ceramics and industrial rust inspire the porcelain work of Kirsten Coelho. After training at the South Australian School of Art in the late 1980s, Coelho lived for a number of years in London during the 1990s, working in a local council studio in Clapham, on the top floor of a 1930s leisure centre. Along with other tenants, Coelho taught pottery classes for nine hours a week in exchange for studio space. Here she began to develop her style, initially under the influence of Bernard Leach and a broad notion of integrating the philosophy of Japanese ceramics with the aesthetics of classical Chinese (Song Dynasty) ceramics. In late 2006, Coelho returned to London for a three-month residency at the Australia Council's studio in Sugar House Lane, East London, whicn, she was pleased to discover, was near the old Bow Pottery.