معرفی
Karin Ruggaber is a Professor and Co-Director of Studies for the Slade Graduate Programme at UCL's Slade School of Fine Art, where she also serves as Head of Graduate Sculpture and Admissions Tutor (MA/MFA). Her academic career spans over 15 years at UCL, progressing from Lecturer (2007-2015) to Senior Lecturer (2015-2019) and ultimately Professor (2023-present), with concurrent visiting lecturer roles at institutions including the Royal Academy Schools, Goldsmiths College, and Oxford's Ruskin School.
Her research centers on sculpture as a dynamic practice exploring figuration, ornamentation, and sensory experience in architecture. The Rock Room Project, founded in 2013, exemplifies her interdisciplinary approach through collaborations with UCL Earth Sciences and Museums, examining materiality across geological timescales. Her work investigates architecture as territorial manifestation and the translation of sculpture into public spaces, with principles of ordering set against material imprecision.
Her recent exhibitions reveal consistent engagement with material transformation and spatial narratives, particularly evident in her 2021 'Clips and Brooches' series and 2018 'Bottom of the lake' exhibition. The trend shows increasing integration of archival research (notably her 2022 British School at Rome archive work on the Bulwer sisters) with sculptural practice, alongside sustained exploration of sensory perception across multiple exhibitions including Anechoic Chamber workshops and ice physics laboratory experiments.
- Abbey Fellowship at the British School at Rome (2019)
- Library and Archive Award at the British School at Rome (2022)
- Residency awards at CCA Andratx, Spain (2016, 2022)
- UCL Arts and Humanities Small Impact Grant (2024)
- UCL Dean’s Strategic Fund Award (2018)
- Arts Council England, The Elephant Trust, and Henry Moore Foundation grants
Ruggaber's mentorship extends through programs like OUTPOST Norwich's Resident Artists Members' Exchange (2014), while her research grants consistently support interdisciplinary projects bridging art with earth sciences and climate physics. The Rock Room Project has facilitated collaborations with geochemists, perfumers, and animal geographers, demonstrating her commitment to cross-disciplinary knowledge exchange. Her external examiner roles at Glasgow School of Art, Newcastle University, and others reflect her standing in art education.
Based in the Slade School's Graduate Sculpture program, Ruggaber's Rock Room Project creates a unique laboratory for artistic experimentation within UCL's Earth Sciences context. This initiative has hosted specialized workshops in the Anechoic Chamber, Ice Physics Laboratory, and Marine Engineering facilities, fostering innovative approaches to materiality and sensory experience. The project's evolution from annual Rock Room exhibitions to the UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory Sculpture Parks demonstrates its expanding scientific integration.
