Rachael McCallum
Artist Statement
Bio
Gallery
Achievements
CV
Contact
Artist Statement
I understand Ceramic material as a liquid caught in moments of transitional states, this is fundamentally where my interest lies: change, uncertainty, an undefined becoming.
So often in the tradtional art history narrative I see so much representation and depth illusion. However I feel, with photography so accessible, that contemporary realism is thoroughly documented. Its the unreal - the opposite of reality - that is curious and valuable. Carrying a fascination of colour as expression, I give it form, as artifact. I want to make tangilbe and real the very transient instincts of play, harmony, flow, or pull.
In my practice, glaze becomes a visual metaphor for natural phenomena and tense, emotional landscapes of abstraction. Glaze drips and pools beyond the canvas plane, asserting its three-dimensionality. These objects catch light, casting shadows that continue the composition into its surrounds. Such surfaces speak in relationships—between texture, edge, and form—creating dynamic conversations across space.
A core driver of my work is through material science and physics, including the idea “there is no such thing as two-dimensional”. Even the thinnest surface has depth. My ceramic paintings embrace this truth, inviting viewers to consider the physics of presence, the beauty of impermanence, and the quiet drama of materials in motion.
Each piece is a singular event. The collision of glaze, clay, and fire produces compositions that resist replication. Shapes in my work are deliberately ambiguous—abstract presences that oscillate in meaning. They hint at lakes, snakes, handbags, or even black Doritos, yet remain uncommitted to any one identity. This ambiguity invites viewers to project their own interpretations, allowing the work to become a mirror for emotional, instinctual and psychological resonance.
This approach reflects an ongoing inquiry into the semiotics of form and the psychology of perception—an interest shaped by a continued research and arts practice.
Works are held in private and institutional collections, where their singularity and material complexity continue to provoke dialogue around value, vulnerability, and the role of chaos in creative authorship.
Her work spans ceramic painting and performance, and has been featured in national and international exhibitions, including the Australian Ceramics Association Triennale (2022), in TACA Biennale exhibitions, performed at the Museum of Contemporary Art (Sydney). She has exhibited across Australias eastern states and occasionally, in Europe.
Alongside her artistic practice, McCallum supports postgraduate education at the University of Technology Sydney and occasionally tutors ceramics at Kil.n.it and Pine Street Creative Arts Centre, Chippendale.
Gallery
Selected Works
Selected Works
Stoneware,
78 x35 x19cm
Currently on show @Kil.n.it courtyard.
Stoneware,
Food safe, plate collection,
2023
MCA ArtBar performance, 2017
Exhibited during Livin’ the Dream,
2017
80cm x 112cm x 11cm
Paperclay & mixed glaxes, mixed media
Acheivements
Co-Founder of Kil.n.it
Experimental Ceramics Studios
2015Glebe, Sydney, AustraliaKil.n.it experimental ceramics studios is a community space for emerging ceramic artists to explore the media of clay and glaze.
It was a space born out of need, opportunity and passion as at the time of opening, ceramics and glass was being removed from the curriculum of TAFE and Colleges, whilst studio facilities that did exist were at full capacity. Meanwhile, there was an opportunity to activate an otherwise unused building in the heart of Glebe [the Nurses Quarters]. As part of the City of Sydney council’s creative precinct initiative, this property was available for subsidised lease.
With a distinct lack of access to critical equipment, and a newfound passion for ceramics, Glenn Barkley, Bev Shroot and Rachael McCallum joined forces to establish a community oriented ceramics space, that encouraged exploration of material and concept beyond traditional pottery values, honouring the radical.
My special contribution to the team [as Technical Director] was my techncial knowledge of ceramics, glaze and so was involved in procurement and operations, as well as tutoring, class lesson plans and firing shcedules.
The site held space for individual studios, a workshop space, kiln hire, and for a short experimental time - an onsite artists residency. One year in, we expanded operations to a classroom space in the local Glebe Town Hall basement, and were also able to achieve a DGR [deductible gift recipient] status, allowing donations to the space.
In my time with Kil.n.it, I was able to directly facillitate many artists major works and see their practices establish into international careers.
HELL-O
multi arts. emerging artists. festival
2015
107Projects, Redfern, SydneyHELL-O Multi-Arts Festival was a three week pageant of emerging artists from a range of visual and liberal art disciplines such as performance art, music, poetry and installed exhibition.
As the event initiator and coordinator, I wanted to ensure equal opportunity to my peers [both graduate and post graduate, from the local university landscape]. With that, there was no theme or underlying, unifying concept to the curation other than the artists exist in Sydney and are reacting to current ideas and events.
The project was supported by the City of Sydney through a matching grants program, auspiced by NAVA, and included the production of a website, catalogue, postcards, kickstarter film, and events program to create networking pathways and promote the artists in an ongoing capacity beyond the limits fo the 3 week show.
The goal was to give a launchpad to newly graduated artists into Sydneys gallery network. The artists from a variety of disciplines pooled from the greater sydney area.
The festival was a grand “Hello” to the local art community, through this independant gesture beyond any one instituition’s facility.
Images courtesy of Louise Morgan ©
- Adwena Shemon
- Janette Gay
- Lisa Woolfe
- Alex Latham
- Anna Cuthill
- Meaghan Potter
- Mevagh Clarke
- Ruth Li
- Sarah Elizabeth Martin
- Sebastian Grant
- Thomas Quayle
- Charlotte Le Brocque
- Veronica Habib
- Yori Tajitsu - Price
- Lotte ‘Loe Loe’ Smith
- Samuel Kirby
- Montana Maree Miller
- Rachael McCallum (Event Coordinator)
Businesses involved
- Projects 107 Redfern (venue)
- Eckersleys (prize supplier)
- Cake Wines (wine sponsor)
- Veggie Patch Van (catering)
- Kickstarter.com (fundraising)
CV
2018-2026
- Compendium Gallery, OUT OF STATE, 2023
- Michael Reid, CLAY PROFORMA, 2023
- The Australian Ceramics Triennale: We Are Kil.n.it @ Raft Artspace | July 2022
- Gaffa Gallery, Group show; This is not Goodbye | June 2022
- Gaffa Gallery, Group show; It’s not just a Hobby. Postponed due to Covid 19. Virtual Exhibition July- Sept | Physical exhibition: October, 2021
- Blog post: The unique and textural pieces by artist Rachael McCallum by Style Curator | June 18, 2021
- Paks Gallery, Castle Hubertendorf | Austria | 2019 - 2026
- Publication: The Best Modern and Contemporary Artists of 2019 | ISBN: 978 88 941280 55
2017
- 541 Art Space | “Clay Date: contemporary Ceramics from the Kil.n.it Studios” | Curated by Kate Britton as part of Art Month | March
- Projects 107 Redfern | Livin' the Dream | Group show with Scott Duncan, Angela Butler and Amaya Lang | | June
- Bondi Pavilion | Clay; Where We Come From | curated by Rachel Buch | June
- Collection of works installed in Royal Prince Alfred hospital | Robotic Surgical wing bldg 26.
- Gaffa Gallery | Seasonal Transience | Performance Series | Curated by Rachel Buch | April
- Elph Store | Paddington Ceramics Store | Sydney
2016
- Gaffa Gallery| Rheology curated by Elyse Goldfinch | group exhibition | December
- Graphis Gallery | Waverly | April - December
- Verge Gallery | Stuck in the Mud | Curated by Madeleine Preston | Sydney University | September
- Tinning Street Presents | WONKY curated by Sophie Cai | performance and installation | Melbourne | July
- MCA Art Bar | Slip Slop Slap | Performance | Circular Quay, Sydney | July
- Manly Art Gallery and Museum | Australian Ceramics Association Exhibition Biennale Exhibition | OverUnderSidewaysDown | Curated by Glenn Barkley | Manly, Sydney | June
- Stacks Projects | Potentially Painting | 191 Victoria Street, Potts Point, Sydney | 31st March – 24th April
- Gallery Sixty One | Sugar Jar | 301 Hunter Street, Newcastle, NSW | 19th Feb – 31st March
2015
- The Other Art Fair | Stall 43 | Central Park Retail Centre, 20 Broadway | Sept 10 - 14
- Hidden | Rookwood Cemetery, Rookwood | 18th Sept - 18th Oct
- Articulate Projectspace | Solo Exhibition "SuhReal" | 497 Parramatta Road | Friday 21 Aug - 6th Sept
- Casula Arts Powerhouse | Biggie Smalls | group exhibition alongside Louise Zhang, Michelle Brasenpreuth and Lynda Draper | May 23
- Projects 107 | 107 Fundraising Season; Art Auction Fundraiser | 107 Redfern St, Redfern | 1st - 5th April
- Art Est. Art School And Gallery | Scientia: Art + Science | Group Show | Coinciding with the Leichhardt Open Studio Trail | Studio 4, 67 - 69 Lords Road, Leichhardt | 2 – 31 March
- Projects 107 | Hell-o Multi Arts Festival | Curated by self | 107 Redfern St, Redfern | 18th Feb – 8th March
- Articulate Projectspace | FERAL 2 “Puddle Project” | 497 Parramatta Rd, Leichart | 12 – 26 Jan
2014
- Botanical Gardens Palm house | Cultivate New Artisans | Curated by Julianne Mills, Sarah Goss and Yuki Kawakami | Lady Macquaries Chair, Sydney | 4 Oct - 14 Oct
- Sturt Gallery | Back to the Table | Curated By Vicki Grima, editor of the JAC and head of the TACA | Mittagong | 14 Sept - 16th Nov
- Branch3d | Bunkered | Group exhibition about Climate Change, curated by Sarah Nolan | Forest Lodge, Sydney | 6 - 27 Sept
- Gaffa Gallery | Yen Magazine's Female Young Art Awards Finalist Exhibition | Town Hall, Sydney | 12 June - 8 July
- Branch3d Window Gallery | There Is No Such Thing As 2d | Forest Lodge, Sydney | 25 May - 21 June
- NG Pop-Up Art Gallery | SOLD COLOUR: (Part of "The Whole") | Solo Exhibition | Central Park Mall, 20 Broadway, Chippendale, Sydney | March 25 - April 13
- The Corner Cooperative, Presented By Dear Henri | The intimate Whole, Chapter ii: Closer than you thought | A group show with Thomas Quayle, Emma Kirby, Louise Morgan and Meaghan Potter | February
2013
- National Art School, Darlinghurst, NSW | Postgraduate Exhibition, Sponsored by Emporio Armani | October
- Kerrie Lowe Gallery, Newtown,NSW | A Fresh Perspective | May
- Gulgong Memorial Hall, Gulgong, NSW | National Art School; Clay Push | May
2012
- National Art School, Darlinghurst, NSW | Undergraduate Exhibition | November
- National Art School, Darlinghurst, NSW | Library Stairwell Gallery; Ink Earth | June
- National Art School, Darlinghurst, NSW | Library Stairwell Gallery, Dysfunctional Families | April
2011
- National Art School, Darlinghurst, NSW | Ceramics Building No. 5, Dirt People | August
- National Art School; Darlinghurst, NSW | Cafeteria, Plate Tectonics | April
2010
- IKU Whole Foods Restaurant, Oxford Street, NSW | Cubist Wall Hanging | August
Education
- National Art School, Sydney Australia; Bachelor of Fine Arts, Honors, 2013
- Ku-Ring-Gai Creative Arts High School; Higher School Certificate 2009
Teaching
- Tutor Pin Street creative studios, Chippendale 2019-2021
- Taught and wrote course program Technique Toolkit, Date Night, Kids Classes, Glazed Over course and various other courses with Kil.n.it in the Studio space and Kil.n.it Classroom 2015-2018
- Technical Assistant | ‘Anxious Art’ by the Brain & Mind Research Institute (BMRI) University of Sydney, 2013
Bibliography
- Dorman, Tessa; Rachael McCallum/ Solid Colour | NG ART Gallery| http://vimeo.com/91371007 | March 2014
- Khalil, Shireen; Ceramicist's Bright Idea - Exhibit has Perfect Balance | Inner West Courier, Pg 42, Lifestyle, Arts | 1st April 2014 http://newslocal.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx
- Winten, Kate; Rachael McCallum Interview | @ The Corner Cooperative Blog Work In Progress | http://thecornercooperative.tumblr.com/ | March 2014
- Bird, Steven; Ink Earth Article | The Journal of Australian Ceramics | Volume 51/3 | Nov 2012
- McCallum, Rachael; Visual Arts Creations Article| Ku-Ring-Gai Creative Arts High School | Year 12 Yearbook | 2009 | Rockstar Publishing
Publications
- Paks Gallery | salzberg| Contemporary Art Palette in Munich | 2019
- Artist Alexandra Engelfriet | website: Clay Gulgong | 2016
- Hidden Rookwood| Catalogue | 2015
- Rachael McCallum Article | Yolo Magazine | Vol 2 | July | 2014
- Hit RE-fresh, A letter to the Future | The Journal Of Australian Ceramics | July | 2014
- Chaos and Control Studio Investigation | National Art School | October 2013
- ‘I Am Rachael’ Article | The Journal Of Australian Ceramics | Volume 522 | July | 2013
- Year 12 Yearbook | Ku-ring-gai Creative Arts Highschool | 2009
Collections
- NG Arts Private Collection, Sydney
- Ku-Ring-Gai Creative Arts High School Library Gallery
- Private Collection, Brisbane, QLD
- Private Collection, Sydney, NSW
Awards
- 2014 Yen Young Female Art Awards Finalist, Yen Magazine
- 2013 Ceramics Technical Prize, National Art School
- 2012 Australian Ceramics Association Award. National Art School
- 2009 Ku-Ring-Gai Creative Arts High School; Photography Competition, 1st place in ‘General’ Category and 2nd Place in ‘People’ Category