Janna van Hasselt’s work has always been characterised by her pleasure in materials and a strong sense of spontaneity, playfulness and humour. It is tactile and exuberant, and she works with media ranging from printed and dyed fabric to puff pigment, ceramics, hot glue and inflatables.

The works often have a feeling of controlled chaos; knots, tubes, folds and stacks are van Hasselt’s forms of choice as she experiments with the tension, stress and gravity of each object made or represented. She also explores the idea of architectural failure, questioning how far her structures can be pushed before they will collapse.

Van Hasselt has been awarded numerous opportunities abroad, including internships at the Edinburgh Printmakers Studio and Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, USA, and two artist residencies at Frans Masereel Centrum for printmaking in Kasterlee, Belgium. In 2013 she received a Fulbright Award which took her to America to complete her MFA at the prestigious School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2014 she won the Premier Award in the Walker & Hall Waiheke Art Award and she has been selected as a finalist in the Portage Ceramic Awards every year from 2012 to 2019 inclusive.