Kirsten Abrahamson


Kirsten Lillian Abrahamson is a Canadian ceramic artist.

Personal background

She was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1960. She moved to Canada with her family at the beginning of her high school years and subsequently became a Canadian citizen. After completing high school, she moved to Calgary, Alberta, to study at the Alberta College of Art and Design where she earned Diplomas in Ceramics and Glassblowing. In 1984 and 1985, she attended the summer sessions in Ceramics at The Banff School of Fine Arts, Banff, Alberta. She then attended the University of Calgary from which she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1987 and Master of Fine Arts in 1990. Subsequently, she was an artist in residence at the Alberta College of Art and Design, and later at the Banff Centre. Her career evolved as an artist and as an instructor at post-secondary institutions.

Body of work

Abrahamson's work was influenced by a sojourn in Mexico in 1993, where she and a colleague experienced the Day of the Dead festival. Out of that experience, she and her colleague created a special exhibition entitled Revival shown at the Muttart Gallery. Subsequently, they had a second exhibition, Days of the Dead at The New Gallery in Calgary. Abrahamson portrayed the symbolism of this festival.
Through her extensive course of studies in ceramic art, Kirsten Abrahamson has both an understanding of ceramic traditions and the formal skills in ceramic arts developed from the 19th through to the 21st century. Her foremost work, Diary of a River, has been the subject of critical analysis.
That work was reviewed in a short book by Carol Podedworny. Podedworny observed that Abrahamson's work reflects the California Funk and Bay Area Ceramics traditions and that Abrahamson's "bold, satirical and colourful leanings are reflected in her narrative and figurative works that have a strong personal introspective penchant". The use of low-fire clay and glazes permit the construction of large objects and brighter colours.
Similarly, Virginia Eichorn's article, about Diary of a River, featured in ESPACE SCULPTURE, observed that Abrahamson's studio work takes an autobiographical approach in the creation of ceramic art that reflects the themes in her life.
Diary of a River was subsequently acquired by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts as part of its permanent collection. A number of her other works have been also been acquired by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
Abrahamson's ceramic art is illustrated and exemplified in several ceramics texts. One of these is Gail Crawford's book Studio Ceramics in Canada, a standard reference text published with the assistance of the Gardiner Museum, the only museum in Canada dedicated to ceramic art. The text discusses and illustrates Canadian ceramic art work and ceramic artists in Canada. Kirsten Abrahamson's glazing work has also been used for illustrative purposes in two books by professional studio potter Robin Hopper. In 2012 her work was featured by the Jonathon Bancroft-Snell Gallery's promotion in Ceramics Monthly.
Kirsten Abrahamson's works were represented in 5 of the 10 National Biennial of Ceramics exhibitions. At the 10th Biennial she was awarded the "Prix Du Public". During its 20-year history, this exhibition was a juried national ceramics show. At its 10th and final exhibition, the participants were selected by curators who invited submissions from artists in each of four regions.

Awards

Abrahamson's work has been recognized by the awards or prizes in these venues,

Collections

Her work has been acquired by individuals and collected in private and public galleries. The works of Kirsten Abrahamson are held in the permanent collections of the following institutions;

Exhibitions

Her work has been given wide public exposure and has been included in several international shows in the United States and overseas; in Taipei, Taiwan; and Prague, Czechoslovakia.

Solo exhibitions

Queue Jonathon Bancroft Snell Gallery, October 2015
  • Her epic work Diary: of a River, first shown at the Illingworth Kerr Gallery Calgary, subsequently traveled to the London Regional Museum and Art Gallery at London, Ontario, and thereafter to the University of Waterloo Gallery in Waterloo, Ontario, during 2004–2005.
  • The 2002 Feature exhibition at the Harbinger Gallery of Waterloo.
  • The 1994 Revival exhibition at the Muttart Gallery.
  • Her Personal Mythologies exhibition presented in 1990 at The Nickle Arts Museum of the University of Calgary.The Personal Mythologies of Dee Dee Alteridem shown in 1990 at the University of Calgary Little Gallery.Accidental Solo exhibited in 1989 at the Canadian Art Gallery of Calgary. I Love A Parade presented by the Muttart Gallery.