Ebony Russell

Ebony Russell is an Australian artist who uses an unorthodox approach to construct ceramic sculptures. Her unique technique was developed out of an interest in gendered aesthetics, labour and traditional craft practices where Russell methodically pipes porcelain in series of intricate layers to build gravity-defying forms. Challenging the traditional making processes of decorative vessels; in her works the decoration becomes the structure, and the boundaries between the two are erased. Exploring established perceptions of cultural and artistic practices that were once exclusively coded as feminine and thus insignificant, Russell’s work celebrates the decorative, promiscuous aesthetics and politics of purity; the superficial, excess and delight – with pleasure.

Ebony Russell completed a Bachelor of Applied Arts (Honours) at Monash University in 2003 and in 2019 graduated from The National Art School, Sydney with a Masters of Fine Art. Russell has won many awards including the Franz International Rising Star Award in 2018 and the Meroogal Women’s Art Prize, 2022. More recently in 2023, Russell received the Highly Commended Award in the International Young Masters Maylis Grand Ceramics Art Prize, London.

Major exhibitions include Homo Faber, Venice 2024, Teetering on the Brink, Claire Oliver Gallery, Harlem New York 2024, Young Masters Art Prize, London 2023, 1001 Remarkable Objects: The Powerhouse Museum, Sydney 2023, Think Pinker, Gavlak Gallery Los Angeles 2023, SABOTAJE ESTEìTICO, Yusto Giner Gallery Spain 2022, Halcyon Days, Modern Eden Gallery San Francisco 2022, Clay Dynasty: The Powerhouse Museum 2022.