Rina Bernabei

About the work

PRESSED, 2024
white and red raku clay with clear glaze
$480

PRESSED tiles are an expression of the process of their making. Clays are mixed and twirled, formed into long coils and then put into a mould in snake like formations. Under the pressure of the mould, the centre is flattened so the coils join, and the edges are squished upward. The tiles vary in colour from all white to all red, expressing the process of extruding the clay.

When arranged together they form a raw dynamic narrative, grounding us to our land and changing times.

About Rina Bernabei

Rina‘s work encapsulates her years of practice as a product designer. Her ceramic practice reflects her research of emotional design and the relationships between handmade craft practices and digital technologies and manufacture. She has brought her experience and passion for interior products to the tactile aesthetics of clay. Working across hand built, wheel thrown and 3D ceramic printing, her work explores decoration and process for the contemporary interior.

Rina has worked as Senior Lecturer in Industrial Design at the University of New South Wales for 26+ years, as well as in design studios in Sydney and Milan. She is co-director of bernabeifreeman, whose award-winning design work has been featured in many exhibitions both locally and internationally. Her work has been published extensively and she has many written publications. She currently also designs for leading Australian interior product companies.

Top image: Rina Bernabei, PRESSED (detail), 2024. Photo: Courtesy the Artist.