Karlien van Rooyen (b. 1991, South Africa) 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 six years living in remote bush blockades alongside Indigenous communities engaged in legal resistance against mining corporations. 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, trauma, 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.
Resume
Karlien van Rooyen Education
B.A. Contemporary Art – University of South Australia
2014 – 2016
Medical Science, Neuroscience Specialisation - Flinders University, Australia
2010 - 2021
Selected Exhibitions
Clay Awards - Rust-en-Vrede Gallery, UNESCO affiliated International Academy of Ceramics (IAC), South Africa
2024
AWC Contemporary - International Sculpture Park, Dubai
2024
1-54 London – Somerset House, London, England
2023
Enter Art Fair – THK Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2023
Unfold – 99 Loop Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2020
Shaping Things – SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2020
Eight Fingers Crossed – FELT Space, Adelaide, South Australia
2019
[Solo] InVivo – Worth Gallery – Fisher Jeffries Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia
2018
[Solo] Smoke That Thunders – Troppo Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia
2017
[Solo] Bush Dream Fever – Troppo Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia
2016
[Solo] Roo’d & BBQ’d – Adelaide Fringe, Adelaide, South Australia
2015
[Solo] Astraya’ and The Furrowed Brows – SALA Urban Cow Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia
2014
[Solo] Brazen – Adelaide Fringe Higher Ground Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia
2013
Square – SALA Whitmore Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia
2019
DWELL – Worth Gallery The Parade, Adelaide, South Australia
2018
Advertiser Contemporary Art Exhibition – SALA Festival, Keith Murdoch House, Adelaide, South Australia
2017
[Sic.] Rose – Praxis Art Space FRAN Festival, Adelaide, South Australia
2017
Helpman Academy Exhibition – Driller Hall, Adelaide, South Australia
2017
NEST – Urban Cow Gallery, SALA & Adelaide Fringe Festival, Adelaide, South Australia
2016
Transference – The Metro Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia
2015
SHE’s Artistic – Female Festival of Arts, West End Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia
2014
Rayzist A Discovery of Glass – Liverpool Street Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia
2013
Everything Now – SALA - Three Doors Plus One, Adelaide, South Australia
2012
Nautical But Nice – Fringe Festival, Higher Ground Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia
2012
Selected Awards
Carclew Project & Professional Development Grant, Jingdezhen, China
2017
SALA Contemporary Art Prize Finalist
2017
Minter Ellison Award – Emerging Female Artist With Outstanding Creative Potential
2017
Adelaide Architecture and Design Award, University of South Australia
2016
Trudie Alfred Bequest Scholarship for Australian Ceramics
2016
Golden Key Honors Award, Semesters 1 & 2 for duration of UniSA degree
2016
Linda Lou Murphy Scholarship, University of South Australia
2014
Publications
What We’re Loving, Fairlady Magazine, South Africa
2022
Hands On, SA Living Magazine, Australia
2017
Creative Language At Work, Adelaide Matters p22, Australia
2017
2017
Spotlight Artist #16 – Adelaide Art History Magazine, Australia
2016
Feature Artist, Journal of Australian Ceramics
2016
She’s Artistic, Amnesty International Publication
2015