Kaja Upelj’s practice explores the violence embedded within ideals of purity and femininity. Central to her work are themes of sexuality, self-perception, shame, and the gaze. Working primarily in sculpture, she employs materials such as glass, metal, textiles, and, more recently, soap and scent. Across these materials, Upelj introduces cheekiness as a subtle form of resistance: playful, self-aware, and quietly provocative. Rather than directly confronting systems of control, the work moves around them through humor, charm, and a grounded feminine confidence, transforming tension into something lighter, sharper, and unexpectedly powerful.
Kaja Upelj (b.1992) is a Slovenian artist working between Slovenia and the United Kingdom. She graduated with MA from the Royal College of Art in 2018. Upelj studied in Estonian Academy of Art and received BA in Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana in 2016. In 2022, she had a solo exhibition Where There’s Nothing Else Left, Hold Me Tighter at Ljubljana’s Castle in Slovenia. Notable group exhibition include Green World at Emma Scully Gallery(2023), Perfect Darkness at Officine Saffi (2019) and presentations at art fairs such as Kiaf Seoul (2023), West Bund Art & Design (2023), Art021 (2023), Design Miami (2022), Miart (2019, 2020) and Nomad Circle (2019,2020).
Winner of the Art Residency in New York City by Slovenian Ministry of Culture in 2022, Upelj also received a scholarship by Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust in 2018 and gained training at Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York. Other scholarships include Pilchuck Summer School (2017) and Scholarship for Postgraduate Study Abroad by Slovenian Ministry of Culture (2016). She was recognised as one of the global emerging young talents at New Horizons 2018 in China. In 2025, she was invited to participate in the artist residency at Villa Lena in Tuscany.
Kaja Upelj is currently undertaking further studies in department of Fine Art in Goldsmiths University.