The Dolphin Coffee Set is a work by designer and artist Robert Foster in the Parliament House Art Collections.  

Foster, an expert in anodised aluminium, was known for transforming utilitarian objects – like coffee pots – into sculptural works. His experiments with technique and process led to innovative methods of shaping metals, such as explosion forming and water forming.1 This allowed him to create a wider variety of forms from which to develop standardised production objects.

For this work, dolphins were not the original subject matter; rather, the forms evolved into dolphins as Foster developed the organic shapes and colour palette. He avoided conceptualising in drawings or maquettes in his practice, instead starting the process with manipulating the materials directly, allowing him complete freedom of expression.

Robert Foster  
Born in 1962 in Kyneton in Victoria, Robert Foster (1962-2016) completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Gold and Silversmithing) at the Canberra School of Art in 1981, studying with the Norwegian silversmith Ragnar Hansen and German silversmith Johannes Kuhnen. He was the founder and chief designer of Fink + Co, a design and manufacturing company established in 1993 in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, that produces metal and glass tableware, jewellery, decorative objects and lighting. Foster completed several commissions for commercial and public spaces; notably the Ossolites Lighting Project installation entitled ‘The journey’ (2008), in the foyer of the ACTEW Corporation in Canberra’s CBD. His works are held in major public collections including the National Gallery of Australia, Victoria & Albert Museum (London) and Museum of Modern Art (New York).²

References  
1. National Gallery of Australia, “Robert Foster”, accessed 1 October 2025. https://nga.gov.au/about-us/obituaries/robert-foster/
2. Ibid.