Angela Valamanesh is a leading Australian ceramist, born in Port Pirrie, South Austalia in 1953. A graduate of South Australian School of Art in 1977 her practice primarily involved ceramics. In 1993 she completed an MA in Visual Arts at University of South Australia and a PhD in 2011. She was awarded an Anne & Gordon Samstag International Visual Art Scholarship with a one year residency at Glasgow School of Art in 1996.
Valamanesh’s practice is centred around her deep interest in science and poetry, the rational and the irrational, the formal and the symbolic. She is known for her fine painting and exceptional, complex ceramics. Valamanesh has collaborated on a number of public works with Hossein Valamanesh, including An Gorta Mor 1999 (The Great Irish Famine Memorial) Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney and 14 pieces, 2005, North Terrace, Adelaide.
As an artist, Valamanesh is known for her intricate ceramic works but she also makes work on paper, board and mixed media. Recent works consist of simple forms that make links between plant, human and animal. For Valamanesh, inspiration comes from the diversity seen in nature. Simultaneously, her in-depth research of such forms reveal similarities in patterns that allow her to create work that offers insight into the natural world. The works that she creates are familiar, yet not completely recognisable.
“The practice of building groups or arrangements has existed in my work for a number of years now and their linear qualities still remind me of the way letters form words or sentences on a page. Also, in this more recent work, the reference to the way specimens in collections are often presented to us is perhaps relevant.” (excerpt from artist statement, 2007)
Valamanesh's work is held in significant public collections, including the National Gallery of Australia and the Art Gallery of South Australia. In 2008, Angela Valamanesh was the subject of a SALA (South Australian Living Artist) monograph and, in 2019, presented a major survey ICON at Jam Factory, South Australia which proceeded to tour across Australia for the following three years. She was commissioned to create major new work for Free/State, 2022 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, Art Gallery of South Australia and in 2023, Valamanesh was the recipient of the prestigious Mordant Family/Australia Council Affiliated Fellowship, at the American Academy, Rome. This year, Valamanesh received the Bettison and James Award, South Australia. Her work is found in private collections around the world including Australia, Japan and the United States.
