Vagn Nykel was born in Denmark, where he trained as a potter and had several exhibitions. His grandfather Edvard Eriksen was the sculptor who designed and made the "Little Mermaid" statue in Copenhagen harbour, and the Swedish royal family bought a number of his pots. He migrated to Australia, setting up a workshop in Melbourne and holding his first exhibition there in 1969. He made wheel-thrown functional ware with a characteristic speckled glaze. The sculptor Michael Rieder worked for him as an apprentice in 1976. Work is marked with an incised 'Nykel' or 'V. Nykel'.