Sigrid Espelien

Sigrid Espelien is a Research Fellow at the Department of Arts and Crafts at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts. Her practice integrates ceramics, drawing, and event-based research, focusing on the intersection of art, geology, urban development, and archaeology. She holds a ceramic craft education from Bornholm’s Glass- and Ceramics School (Denmark) and a Master of Fine Art and Ceramics from Cranbrook Academy of Art (USA).

Her primary research project, Bjørvikaclay: Research from a Ceramic Artist’s Perspective, explores Oslo’s fastest-growing urban area through locally sourced clay. This work investigates clay as both material and cultural artifact, examining its ties to land, industry, and architecture. Recent outputs include a 2025 doctoral thesis and a 2024 museum exhibition under the title Grounding with (blue) clay.

Key exhibitions and lectures include Poetics of landness (2022), a collaborative exhibition, and Reading a Brick (2022), analyzing urban brick narratives. Her mid-2022 seminar explored methodologies for site-specific artistic research.

Her creative practice extends to installations like Mjøstegl (2017), involving custom bricks made from Gjøvik clay, highlighting materiality and craftsmanship. Espelien’s work bridges artistic production with academic inquiry, emphasizing clay’s role as a mediator between human activity and natural processes.