Renee So
Australia Council for the Arts Residency
2005
Renee So is a sculptor living and working in London. Working primarily with ceramic and wool, Renee has constructed a personal iconography of humanoid characters drawn from the international history of sculpture.
Born in Hong Kong and raised in Australia, Renee’s early practice explored the duality of her heritage, with reference to chinoiserie exports. After moving to London in 2005, she began working on her notable two dimensional, knitted portraits created on a 1970's knitting machine, inspired by cartoon figures, medieval tapestries and ancient friezes. Her extensive research into the histories of European and Assyrian sculpture have inspired her more recent ceramic bust works modelled on German Bellarmine jugs. Like her knitted portraits, these works depict fictional personas, with elements borrowed from ancient ritual masks, military and aristocratic portraiture, and gladiator helmets.
Recent solo exhibitions include: Figurines, Mossman Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand (2020); Renee So, De La Warr Pavilion, Sussex, UK (2019); Renee So, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, UK (2019); Vessel Man, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney Australia (2016); Renee So, Kate MacGarry, London, UK (2016); Conspiracy of Detail, GSA, Glasgow, UK (2013); Renee So, Marc Jancou Contemporary, Geneva, Switzerland (2012).
Australia Council for the Arts
Since 1992, the Australia Council for the Arts has partnered with Acme to provide London work/live residency opportunities for Australian visual artists. These residencies are located at Acme's Fire Station in Poplar, E14. Application and selection is undertaken directly by the Australia Council for the Arts.
For more information visit australiacouncil.gov.au
