Onka Allmayer-Beck

Onka Allmayer-Beck

B. Vienna, Austria.

Onka Allmayer-Beck is an internationally active artist and designer whose practice spans ceramics, sculpture, drawing, and fashion. She studied Art Foundation at Cambridge University (2000-2001) and Fashion Design at Central Saint Martins, London (2001-2004). She later completed professional training in ceramics under Maestro Giuseppe Laschera (2014-2016).

In the field of fashion, she worked for Giorgio Armani as Senior Designer for Footwear (2008-2013), for Strenesse as Senior Designer for Leatherwear (2007-2008), and with Carol Christian Poell in Milan as Studio Assistant (2004-2006).

Alongside her fashion career, Allmayer-Beck developed an independent ceramic practice distinguished by a high level of craftsmanship, experimental approaches to form, and an ongoing exploration of material, color, and movement. Her works have been exhibited internationally in London, Berlin, Milan, Barcelona, Vienna, Budapest, Moscow, New York, Miami, and Basel. Selected presentations include Salone del Mobile Milano, Art Basel Summer Camp, Art Miami, Collect Art Fair London, White Wall Collectors Club Salzburg, and Vienna Design Week, as well as numerous group exhibitions and solo shows.

She has participated in several artist-in-residence programs, including Tbilisi (2023) and the Abramcevo Cultural Center in Siberia (2016), and will be working at the Academy of Ceramics Gmunden in 2026.

Allmayer-Beck maintains ongoing collaborations with design and gastronomy projects, including Vöslauer, Rote Wand Zug, Rosie Restaurant Zurich, Mraz & Sohn, Studio Schmaus, and Ciao Miao. From 2014 to 2019, she taught fashion and accessory design at IUAV Venice and Polidesign Milan, where she mentored Bachelor's and Master's students in conceptual development, design processes, and technical execution.

Her work operates at the intersection of function, sculpture, and artistic gesture. It reflects themes of movement, materiality, and balance, merging traditional techniques with contemporary interpretation.