Drawing on Israeli heritage and Mediterranean material languages, Cohen creates work that merges architectural influence, domestic form and contemporary design aesthetics. Her practice explores how colour, joy and cultural hybridity can act as forms of dissent, resilience and community connection. A long-standing member of Craft + Design Canberra, Cohen has exhibited nationally, internationally and contributed to the ACT design ecology for three decades.
Her work spans solo exhibitions, teaching, community workshops and public programs. She specialises in slip-casting, hand-building, decal application and surface design.
In 2026, she will present Colours of Dissent: Joy as Dissent –Porcelain Forms in Bright Colours for the Craft + Design Canberra Festival.
My work explores the intersection of elegance and rebellion. Through delicate porcelain forms glazed in vivid, joyful colours, I challenge the expectation that beauty must be muted and restrained. Traditionally, porcelain is associated with purity and minimalism — yet I use it as a canvas for bold, optimistic hues that defy convention. This approach transforms colour into a language of dissent: a declaration that joy can be radical, and vibrancy can disrupt conformity. Each piece invites viewers to consider how design choices reflect cultural norms and how breaking thosenorms can open space for hope, individuality, and resistance. In a world often dominated by austerity, my work asserts that happiness itself can be a powerful act of protest.
Sarit Cohen is a graduate of the ANU School of Art (Ceramics). She completed her Diploma of Education (University of Canberra) and in this period was awarded the Doug Alexander Memorial Award for Decorative Surface. She has completed residencies in Denmark, Switzerland and China. These opportunities have significantly contributed to her work in the areas of porcelain manipulation and casting. She has contributed to numerous group and survey shows over the last 20 years, both nationally and internationally, notably in the USA, Denmark, Hungary and Japan. Her works are held in private and public collections in these countries. Cohen’s work bears the influence of her childhood spent in Israel, and of her Turkish and Indian heritage. Her memories of the desert, its surfaces and dry atmosphere are constantly evidenced in her objects. Together with an increasing curiosity about her Indian background, these form the basis of her research.
Sturt Gallery, Mittagong - www.sturt.nsw.edu.au
Craft ACT, Canberra - www.craftact.org.au
