Karlien Van Rooyen

(b. 1991, South Africa)

Karlien van Rooyen is a Cape Town-based ceramic sculptor whose conceptual practice is deeply informed by an unconventional life shaped by science,
activism, and personal transformation. Originally trained in medical science with a focus on neuroscience, she later worked as a full-time environmental
activist, spending three years alongside Indigenous communities. These experiences profoundly shaped her worldview and now echo through her sculptural work.

Turning to art as a form of healing and self-expression following her departure from frontline activism, Karlien completed a degree in Contemporary Art at the University of South Australia in 2017, where she was awarded the Minter Ellison Award for Outstanding Creative Potential. In 2018, she received an International Project Grant to undertake a seven-week ceramic residency in Jingdezhen, China-the historic centre of porcelain production.
Her work, rooted in the materiality of clay, explores themes of resilience and transformation, often drawing inspiration from wild landscapes and the tension between fragility and strength. Through sculpture, she continues to navigate the complexities of the human condition and its entanglement with the natural world.

Education

B.A. Contemporary Art - University of South Australia

2014 - 2016 

Medical Science, Neuroscience - Flinders University,  Australia

2010 - 2021 

Selected Exhibitions

2026 

Building Mirrors, Carrying Souls - Knysna Fine Art, Knysna, South Africa

Heart of Darkness - JamFactory Gallery, South Australia

2025 

The Journey of Life - Homo Faber, Venice

2024

[Solo] Animist, Curatorial+Co., Australia

Clay Awards - Rust-en-Vrede Gallery, South Africa

AWC Contemporary - International Sculpture Park, Dubai

2023

1-54 London – Somerset House, London, England

Enter Art Fair – THK Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

2020

Unfold – 99 Loop Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

Shaping Things – SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

2019

Eight Fingers Crossed – FELT Space, Adelaide, South Australia

2018

[Solo] InVivo – Worth Gallery – Fisher Jeffries Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia

2017

[Solo] Smoke That Thunders – Troppo Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia

2016

[Solo] Bush Dream Fever – Troppo Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia

2015

[Solo] Roo’d & BBQ’d – Adelaide Fringe, Adelaide, South Australia

2014

[Solo] Astraya’ and The Furrowed Brows – SALA Urban Cow Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia

2013

[Solo] Brazen – Adelaide Fringe Higher Ground Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia

Selected Group Exhibitions

2025 

Homecoming, A Renewal To Self - Marvol Gallery, Hazendal Estate

2024

Going Guerilla – Eclectica Contemporary, Cape Town

2022

Earth Body Blood Water – Nhà Sống Project, Hanoi, Vietnam

2019

Square – SALA Whitmore Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia

2018

DWELL –  Worth Gallery The Parade, Adelaide, South Australia

 2017

Advertiser Contemporary Art Exhibition – SALA Festival, Keith Murdoch House, Adelaide, South Australia

[Sic.] Rose – Praxis Art Space FRAN Festival, Adelaide, South Australia

Helpman Academy Exhibition – Driller Hall, Adelaide, South Australia

2016

NEST – Urban Cow Gallery, SALA & Adelaide Fringe Festival, Adelaide, South Australia

2015

Transference – The Metro Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia

2014

SHE’s Artistic – Female Festival of Arts, West End Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia

2013

Rayzist A Discovery of Glass – Liverpool Street Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia

2012

Everything Now – SALA - Three Doors Plus One, Adelaide, South Australia

Nautical But Nice – Fringe Festival, Higher Ground Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia

Selected Awards

2017

Carclew Project & Professional Development Grant, Jingdezhen, China

SALA Contemporary Art Prize Finalist 

Minter Ellison Award – Emerging Female Artist With Outstanding Creative Potential

2016

Adelaide Architecture and Design Award, University of South Australia

Trudie Alfred Bequest Scholarship for Australian Ceramics

Golden Key Honors Award, Semesters 1 & 2 for duration of UniSA degree

2014

Linda Lou Murphy Scholarship, University of South Australia

Publications, Press & Interviews

2026

In the Hands of Creation, Meer Magazine, Montenegro

2025

Shaping Clay With Untamed Emotion, Homo Faber Guide, Italy

2022

What We’re Loving, Fairlady Magazine, South Africa

2017

Hands On, SA Living Magazine, Australia

Creative Language At Work, Adelaide Matters p22, Australia

Feature Artist, Journal of Australian Ceramics issue 56/2

2016

Spotlight Artist #16 – Adelaide Art History Magazine, Australia

Feature Artist, Journal of Australian Ceramics

2015

She’s Artistic, Amnesty International Publication