Born in 1962, Jennifer Robertson spent her formative years in coastal Somerset, England. It is an area noted for its natural beauty and formative experiences, walking among hills, coast and woodlands has embodied artistic inspiration.

During 1981-1984 Jennifer completed a BA Honours Degree in Woven Textiles from WSCAD - now Surrey Institute of Art & Design University College, Farnham, Surrey, followed by Post Graduate Studies in Woven Textiles at the Royal College of Art, London, England. Jennifer migrated to Australia in 1986 and is currently living and working in Canberra.

Jennifer’s woven textiles have received international and national recognition, awards and grants. In 2000, her work was chosen to present to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on behalf of the ACT Government. In 2001 her innovative double cloth technique was put into production by NUNO Corporation, Japan. In 2001-2003, Jennifer was awarded a two year Australia Council Visual Arts Craft Fellowship, to undertake innovative technical and artistic research in triple cloth weaving. Akin in complexity to playing three-dimensional chess, this research placed her as a leader in her field internationally. The following year, 2004, Jennifer was awarded a one year artsACT Creative Arts Fellowship, to research and investigate historical Jacquard and draw loom weaving to gain new technical and artistic insights utilising her unique 32 shaft digital hand-loom. This work has the appearance of Jacquard weaving yet achieved on her shaft loom. In 2016, Jennifer was awarded an Australian National University Vice Chancellor Fellowship and a Project Grant from the Australia Council, to undertake collaborative research with Professor Ian Jackson, then Director of the Research School of Earth Science and an individual project to examine and investigate meaningful connections between earth science and weaving. The outcomes of this research led to a continuing new body of work exhibited at the 4th Triennale of Kogei, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan 2019, Cheongju International Craft Biennale, Cheongju, South Korea 2019, ‘Boundless Objects’, Cultural Art Centre Fundacao Eugenio de Almeida, Evora, Portugal 2019-20, Contextile, Contemporary Textile Biennial, Guimarez, Portugal 2018, Scythia, 12th International Biennial Contemporary Textile Art, Ivano-Frankivs’k, Ukraine 2018.

During 2021 Jennifer was awarded the International Award for Excellence for her artwork ‘Tectonic Lineations II’ at the 11th Lausanne to Beijing International Fiberart Biennale. A large scale sculptural artwork inspired by structural geology, mineral science and comprised of woven carbon fibre, quartz fibre, stainless steel and silk, explored frozen tectonic movement and rhythm in undulations, crevasses and lineations.

Jennifer’s works are held in numerous public and private collections including the Cooper Hewitt National Smithsonian Design Museum, New York, USA, NUNO Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of South Australia, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Ararat Regional Gallery TAMA, Wangaratta Art Gallery, Victoria, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Buckingham Palace, London, England..

Jennifer’s research into woven textile large and small scale artworks, fashion, furnishing, interior and objects, examine depth of purpose and layers of meaning, often with the use of metaphors and analogies to explore senses of place, knowing and belonging.

See CV for more detail.

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