“When I look at my works collectively, I see and feel home.”
Maricelle Olivier encapsulates memories and nostalgia through her ceramic works, infusing a unique cross-cultural language from her birthplace of South Africa with the Australian landscape. Vessels adorning vivid, colourful patterns captures the feeling of “home” and enable Maricelle to explore her personal history and maintain a strong connection to her heritage.
Maricelle draws particular inspiration from the safari lands of South Africa’s Kruger National Park. The Kruger is a significant location personally, associated with an abundance of precious childhood memories of yearly visits. These holidays in “die Bosveld” (The Bushland) extend back intergenerationally as a family tradition, upheld until their move to Sydney NSW in 2007.
Meticulously drawing and etching each line individually on her work, Maricelle effectively creates a visually dynamic surface of interpretations and abstractions of the safari landscape. Combined with the use of various colours, the works are transformed into embodiments that unpack layered emotions.
Currently based in Canberra, ACT, Maricelle holds a Bachelor and Master of Fine Art in Ceramics from the National Art School, where she completed her studies in 2018. She is represented by Sabbia in Sydney.
Maricelle has exhibited widely across Australia, including at Sydney Contemporary (Australasian Art Fair) and the major exhibition Clay Dynasty at the Powerhouse Museum. Her work has been featured in several prestigious finalist exhibitions, such as the Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize (2024), the Fleurieu Biennale Art Prize (2024), and the Fisher’s Ghost Art Award (2024). A selection of works has also been acquired into the National Art School Collection and City of Sydney Collection.
In addition to her studio practice, Maricelle is currently a Guest Curator and Ceramic Teacher at the Canberra Potters Society. She is also a regular visiting artist at Ernabella Arts Centre, previously working as the Ceramic Studio Manager from 2019 until 2021.
Image: Regan Pearse, 2025
Curriculum Vitae
Maricelle Olivier
b. 1995, Johannesburg, South Africa
Lives and works in Canberra, Australia
Education
2017 - 2018 Master of Fine Art (ceramics), National Art School, Sydney
2014 - 2016 Bachelor of Fine Art (ceramics), National Art School, Sydney
Professional Experience
2025 - present Guest Curator, Canberra Potters Society, Canberra
2022 - present Ceramic Teacher, Canberra Potters Society, Canberra
2022, 2023, 2025 Visiting Artist, Ernabella Arts, South Australia
2019 - 2021 Ceramic Studio Manager, Ernabella Arts, South Australia
Awards
2024 The Hiroe Swen Award for the Most Original Exhibit, Canberra Potters Member Exhibition
Finalist in the 62nd Annual Fisher’s Ghost Award, Campbelltown
Finalist in the Fleurieu Biennale Art Prize, McLaren Vale, South Australia
Finalist in the Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize, Sydney
2022 Finalist in North Queensland Ceramic Awards, Townsville, Queensland
2020 Finalist in The Lake Art Prize, Museum of Art and Culture, Lake Macquarie
2018 The Australian Ceramics Association Prize, National Art School
2016 Mansfield Third Year Ceramics Student Award, National Art School
Solo Exhibitions
2025 a thousand lines, a thousand times, Sabbia, Sydney
2023 A Delicate Endurance, Beaver Galleries, Canberra
2022 Chiaroscuro, Sabbia, Sydney
Quiet Company, Jennings Kerr, Robertson
2021 Technicolour Desert, Sabbia, Sydney
2020 Love Bird, gaffa gallery, Sydney
Selected Group Exhibitions
2024 Verticale, Sabbia, Sydney
Evoke, Sturt Gallery and Studios, Mittagong
2023 Patterns and Textures and Lines, Oh My!, JamFactory Seppeltsfield, South Australia
essence, Sabbia – Sydney Contemporary, Sydney
Present, Canberra Potters, Canberra
2022 Small Works, Beaver Galleries, Canberra
Australiana, JamFactory Seppeltsfield, South Australia
2021 Clay Dynasty, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
2020 The Space Within, Sabbia, Sydney
2019 It's a Wrap, White Rhino Art Space, Sydney
2018 Released: Post Graduate Exhibition, Rayner Hoff Space, National Art School
Sydney Make your Mark!, White Rhino Artspace, Sydney
Collections
National Art School, Sydney
City of Sydney, Sydney
Private Collections in Australia, Manila, South Africa and Europe