Janna van Hasselt is a ceramic sculptor, born in Ōtepoti Dunedin in 1980 and now resides in Ōtautahi Christchurch, New Zealand.She earned a BFA (printmaking) from Ilam School of Fine Arts, Ōtautahi Christchurch (2004) and, as a recipient of a Fullbright Award an MFA (visual art) from the School of Art Institute of Chicago (2014).van Hasselt’s work is characterized by a pleasure in materials and a strong sense of spontaneity, playfulness and humor.The artist works with media ranging from printed and dyed fabric to puff pigment, ceramics, hot glue and inflatables.Her works often have a feeling of controlled chaos; knots, tubes, folds and stacks are van Hasselt’s forms of choice as she experiments with the tension, stress and gravity of each object made or represented.She also explores the idea of architectural failure, questioning how far her structures can be pushed before they collapse.

“I find inspiration in the everyday; the minutiae of life as a parent,” Van Hasselt shares.“My works are created manipulating clay and slip using varied actions present in basic life tasks – kneading, rolling, stretching, extruding, slicing, stacking, piercing, plaiting and highlighting.”More of Janna van Hasselt’s unique and fun art can be found at https://www.janna.co.nz/ and https://www.seedgallery.co.nz/collections/janna-van-hasselt-sculpture.