Caroline Slotte (b. 1975, Helsinki, Finland) excavates antique plates and china tableware, subtracting matter to render intricate, sandblasted lines and ghostly tracings. Her delicate yet densely-layered patterns interrupt the material coherence of these common objects, revealing moments of absence, ambiguity, and blankness. These acts of redaction underscore the curious nature of mass-produced decorative objects; by taking away layers of glaze and clay, Slotte draws our attention to their stylized forms and materiality, as in Delftware ceramics with their familiar yet distant landscapes. Each of her scenes, as though sculpted by erosion, becomes a uniquely altered variation on the theme. In doing so, her artworks broaden our attention to address questions of cultural association, material memory, and the inevitable losses and transformations of time.
Slotte is a member of the Arabia Art Department Society in Helsinki, Finland, where she maintains a studio. She has exhibited widely in exhibitions at the Everson Museum, the Espoo Museum of Modern Art, the XXII Triennale di Milano, and the Cheongju International Craft Biennale in South Korea. Her work is included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the Museum of Decorative Arts in Oslo. She graduated from the department of ceramics and glass at Designskolen Kolding in 1998 and received an MA and PhD in ceramic art from the Bergen Academy of Art and Design.
CAROLINE SLOTTE
b. 1975, Helsinki, Finland
EDUCATION
2011
PhD, Bergen Academy of Art and Design, Dept. of Ceramic Art, Bergen, Norway
2003
MA, Bergen Academy of Art and Design, Dept. of Ceramic Art, Bergen, Norway
1998
BA, Design School Kolding, Dept. of Ceramics and Glass, Kolding, Denmark
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023
There Is Constantly Something Happening, Gallery Format, Oslo, Norway
There Is Constantly Something Happening, Peach Corner, Copenhagen, Denmark
2018
Riska & Slotte, Gallery Format, Oslo, Norway
2016
Pages, Konsthantverkarna, Stockholm, Sweden
2014
Caroline Slotte, Kunstnerforbundet, Oslo, Norway
2010
Going Blank Again, Gallery s.e., Bergen, Norway
2009
Biennale Exhibition, Porsgrunn Art Society, Porsgrunn, Norway
2007
Beyond Blue Skies, Arabia Museum Gallery, Helsinki, Finland
2006
On Grandmother’s Porch, Sinne Gallery, Helsinki, Finland
2003
Re: presentations, Gallery Artisaani, Helsinki, Finland
2001
Multiple Me, Gallery Artisaani, Helsinki, Finland
2000
Terra Fragilis, Gallery Septaria, Helsinki, Finland
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025
One Way or Another, HB381, New York, NY
Poetry of the Woods: The Call of the Wild, Køppe Contemporary Objects, Bornholm, Denmark
2023
Sustainable Ceramics, Princessehof National Museum of Ceramics, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
Life Cycles: The Materials of Contemporary Design, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Pohjoista leveyttä/Nordlig latitud/Northern Latitude, Design LAB Galleri, Helsinki, Finland
2021
Särkyvää: Ceramics Facing the New, Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Espoo, Finland
2020–21
Broken Nature, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
2020
Miniatyr, Lokal, Helsinki, Finland
2019–20
Earth Piece, Everson Museum, Syracuse, NY
2019
Broken Nature: Design Takes on Human Survival, XXII Triennale di Milano, Milan, Italy
Keep Your Garden Alive, The Finnish Cultural Institute, Paris, France and Spazio Nobile, Brussels, Belgium
Helsinki Fat Clay, Blås & Knåda, Stockholm, Sweden
2018
Hjemmets skatter, Blaafarveværket, Modum, Norway
Revive, Remix, Respond, The Frick Pittsburgh, PA
2017–18
The Women, Ferrin Contemporary, North Adams, MA
2017
Visioning Future Through Craft and Design: Cheongju International Craft Biennale, Cheongju, South Korea
Oi Suomi, Katso, Lokal, Helsinki, Finland
New York Ceramics & Glass Fair, Bohemian National Hall, New York, NY
2016
Collective Design Fair with Gallery Format, Skylight Clarkson Square, New York, NY
At Your Service, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, TX
Re: Reanimate, Repair, Mend and Meld, Ferrin Contemporary, North Adams, MA
2015
Drawing, National Glass Centre, Sunderland, UK
My Blue China!, Bernardaud Foundation, Limoges, France
Zwinger und Ich, Bomuldsfabrikken Kunsthall, Arendal, Norway
Collect: The International Art Fair for Contemporary Objects with Gallery Format, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
2014–15
Transformator, Bomuldsfabrikken Kunsthall, Arendal, Norway and Hydrogenfabrikken Gallery, Fredrikstad, Norway
2014
Ceramics & Space, Design Museum, Helsinki, Finland
Helsinki Fat Clay, Galerie Marianne Heller, Heidelberg, Germany
Helsinki Fat Clay, Arabia Museum Gallery, Helsinki, Finland
At Your Service, Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, WA
2013
Vociferous Void, The British Ceramics Biennial, Spode Factory, Stoke-on-Trent, UK
Horizon, The Museum of Decorative Arts, Oslo, Norway
Tendencies – Tenderness, Galleri F15, Moss, Norway
New Blue-and-White, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
2012
Collect: The International Art Fair for Contemporary Objects with Galerie Sofie Lachaert, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
Helsinki Fat Clay, Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche, Faenza, Italy and Galleria Officine Saffi, Milan, Italy
Conceptual Ceramics, Vendsyssel Museum of Art, Hjørring, Denmark
Making Knowledge, Gustavsbergs Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden
2011–12
The Tool at Hand, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI; The Museum of Contemporary Craft, Portland, OR; The Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, TX; and the Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA
Thing Tang Trash, The West Norway Museum of Decorative Art, Bergen, Norway
2011
Between Tradition and Future: Cheongju International Craft Biennale, Cheongju, South Korea
Collect: The International Art Fair for Contemporary Objects with Gallery Norsu, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
Blue, Flow Gallery, London, UK
2010
Collect: The International Art Fair for Contemporary Objects with Galleri Kunst1, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
Currency: Think Tank–A European Initiative for the Applied Arts, Kammerhof Museum, Gmunden, Austria
Le Cru et le Cuit, Galerie Favardin & de Verneuil, Paris, France
Korero: Taiwan Ceramics Biennale, Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum, Taiwan
Gl’amour, Oulu Museum of Art, Oulu, Finland
Modus Operandi, Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum, Trondheim, Norway
2009
Collect: The International Art Fair for Contemporary Objects with Galleri Kunst1, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
Still, Galerie Sofie Lachaert, Tielrode, Belgium
Object Factory: The Art of Industrial Ceramics, Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY
2008
Collect: The International Art Fair for Contemporary Objects with Gallery Norsu, The Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK
Otto, Vantaa Art Museum, Vantaa, Finland
2007
Tendenser, Gallery F15, Moss, Norway
Present, Gallery Bomuldsfabriken, Arendal, Norway
2006
Languages: Think Tank–A European Initiative for the Applied Arts, Design Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark
DESIGN PROJECTS
2012
Ostindia Floris, Rörstrand, Sweden
COMMISSIONS & COLLABORATIONS
2025
Public Art Commission for the Arabia135 Block, Helsinki; Collaborative project with Arabia Art Department Society
2018
Public Art Commission in collaboration with architect Ruusa Viljanen Rossi, Kvarteret Victoria, Helsinki, Finland
2013–19
Founding member of the Network for Nordic Contemporary Ceramics, an artist led collaboration promoting pan-Nordic reflection and discussion on contemporary ceramic art. Activities included workshops, seminars, study tours, exhibitions and publications
2012–13
Invited participant in Topographies of the Obsolete: Exploring the Site Specific and Associated Histories of Post-Industry, an artistic research project utilizing the original Spode Factory site in Stoke-on-Trent as a thematic starting point. The project was led by Bergen Academy of Art and Design (NO) and included activities such as workshops, seminars, exhibitions and publications.
GRANTS
2022
Arts Promotion Centre Finland, 5-year working grant
2015
The Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland, 2-year working grant
2014
The Finnish Cultural Foundation, 1-year working grant
Finnish Cultural Institute in New York, artist-in-residence
Arts Promotion Centre Finland, project grant
FRAME, project grant
2012
Ornamo Art and Design Finland
Arts Promotion Centre Finland, public display grant
Arts Promotion Centre Finland, project grant
2011
The Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland, travel grant
Konstsamfundet, project grant
2010
The Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland, 1-year working grant
2008
The Stina Krook Foundation
2007
The Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland, 1-year working grant
Arts Promotion Centre Finland, project grant
2006–07
Arabia Art Department Society, artist-in-residence
2006
Sleipnir travel grant
Arts Promotion Centre Finland, public display grant
Konstsamfundet, project grant
The Finnish Cultural Foundation, 1-year working grant
The Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland, travel grant
2004
Sleipnir travel grant
The Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland, working grant
Konstsamfundet, project grant
2003
City of Helsinki, arts and culture grant
The Letterstedt Society, travel grant
2002
The Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland, study grant
Konstsamfundet, project grant
2000
Konstsamfundet, project grant
Arts Council of Uusimaa, project grant
Svensk-Österbottniska samfundet, project grant
MEMBERSHIPS
Arabia Art Department Society
Artists O, Finland (Board Member 2011–2012)
Association of Finnish Sculptors
Finnish Association of Designers ORNAMO (Board Member Art Section 2011–2014)
