Bio
ABOUT ME
I was born in the Philippines, grew up in Australia, lived in London and currently living between Europe and Australia. My background began in Media and visual communication, working in television for over a decade before discovering and deciding to pursue my interest in ceramics and become a ceramic artist.
ARTIST STATEMENT
As a creator working primarily in three dimensions, I mainly consider my work as investigations into form and function. I'm also interested in my own fetishisation of form and the relationships that we inevitably make with objects. My work is rooted in the traditional aspects of the craft in technique and construction; although my aims are for these mundane forms to have the capacity to transcend themselves. To reach into our yearning to engage in ritual and our predilection to attribute emblematic properties to objects that can be both banal and personal. Overall, what I’m asking is - how does a mere mug or vase become imbued with value and meaning once held in the hand? And so, I find that it's the interaction between human and object that cultivates meaning and it's this personal reaction to objects that really interests me. At the end of the day, I wish for my objects to sing in the spaces they inhabit; what that song is depends on the beholder.
EXHIBITIONS
STRICTLY FUNCTIONAL POTTERY NATIONAL (FINALIST), USA, 2021
XV BIENNALE INTERNAZIONALE DELLA CERAMICA DI MANISES (FINALIST), SPAIN, 2022
CLUSTER CRAFTS FAIR, UNITED KINGDOM, 2022
LITTLE THINGS ART PRIZE (FINALIST), AUSTRALIA, 2022
THROWN CONTEMPORARY WINTER EXHIBITION, UNITED KINGDOM, 2022
CLAY SYDNEY PRIZE IN CERAMICS, (FINALIST) AUSTRALIA, 2023
POUR CURATED BY VICKI GRIMA AT MICHAEL REID NORTHERN BEACHES, AUSTRALIA, 2023
LITTLE THINGS ART PRIZE (FINALIST), AUSTRALIA, 2023
SILICEOUS AWARD FOR CERAMIC EXCELLENCE (HIGHLY COMMENDED), AUSTRALIA, 2023
SMALL WORKS ART PRIZE (FINALIST) AT BRUNSWICK STREET GALLERY, AUSTRALIA, 2024
YINGGE INTERNATIONAL COFFEE CUP COMPETITION, TAIWAN, 2024
UPCOMING
TOW THE LINE (SOLO EXHIBITION) AT MICHAEL REID MURRURUNDI, AUSTRALIA MAY 2024
TOW THE LINE (SOLO EXHIBITION) AT MICHAEL REID SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS, AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2024
Jenni Oh Crafts - the production facet of my practice was borne out of a desire to provide an alternative to mass-produced functional ceramic wares. With a keen interest in sustaining a handicraft style within a modern context, the aim is to bring focus back to the enriching nature of handmade items.
Foremost, the principle behind my work is contemporary simplicity grounded in a belief that even our everyday objects should enhance the spaces they inhabit.
My aesthetic falls somewhere between European and Eastern with wide-ranging influences from Japanese, Korean and Chinese ancient ceramics to Scandinavian and mid-century design, Bauhaus and even kawaii culture. The ceramics, mostly utilitarian in nature are also decorative and seek to sing in the spaces they occupy.