Renee So bestows both monumental grandeur and caricatural qualities to the figures in her works, which weave together a pattern of cross-cultural references. So’s work encompasses ceramic, print and textile. Initially interested in the decorative arts of East and West, So’s material investigation draws from an array of art history and anthropomorphic ceramicware. Her totemic works prompt viewers to examine how forms from mythology, ancient and modern history might be built in, or filtered through, different mediums to form rich and highly idiosyncratic visual choreographies.
Exhibition view, Vessel Man, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery (24 November – 16 December 2016)
Exhibition view, Vessel Man, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery (24 November – 16 December 2016)
Exhibition view, Renee So, Idols, Freemantle Arts Centre, Fremantle (7 February – 31 March 2019)
Exhibition view, Renee So, Idols, Freemantle Arts Centre Fremantle (7 February – 31 March 2019)
Renee So Sunset, 2016; knitted linen and synthetic fibre, oak frame; 150 x 150 cm
Group Show, The First 40 Years
Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, 2024
Renee So Renee So: Provenance
Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne, 2023
Renee So Ancient and Modern
De La Warr Pavilion, London, 2019-20
Renee So Bellarmines and Bootlegs
Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, 2019
Group Show, Idols
Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle, 2019
RENEE SO
b. Born in 1974, Hong Kong
Lives and works in London
EDUCATION
BA Fine Art, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Renee So: Provenance, Monash University Modern of Art (MUMA)
Renee So: Provenance, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Galleries, Sydney
Renee So, Cample Line, Scotland, UK
Figurines, Mossman Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
Renee So: Ancient and Modern, De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea, UK.
Renee So: Bellarmines and Bootlegs, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, UK.
Vessel Man, Roslyn Oxey9 Gallery, Sydney.
Renee So, Kate MacGarry, London, UK.
Renee So, Kate MacGarry, London, UK.
Renee So, Marc Janou Contemporary, Geneva, Switzerland.
Barbuto, Hopkinson Cundy, Auckland, New Zealand.
Renee So, Uplands Gallery Melbourne, Australia
Renee So, Kate MacGarry, London, UK.
Renee So, Uplands Gallery, Melbourne, Australia.
Close Knit II, Studio 12, Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Melbourne, Australia.
Close Knit, Craft Victoria, Melbourne, Australia.
Simple Pleasures, Gallery 4A, Sydney, Australia.
Flock Culture, Studio 12, Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Melbourne, Australia.
Inspirational Contents of Living, Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Melbourne, Australia.
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
The Gertrude Editions, Geelong Gallery, Geelong, Victoria
Personal Mythologies, La Trobe Art Institute, Melbourne
Human Conditions of Clay, John Hansard Gallery, Southampton
UK Tales from Terracottapolis, Tŷ Pawb, Wales, UK
London Making Now, Museum of London, UK
Human Conditions of Clay, Chapter Gallery, Cardiff, Wales, UK
Hapticity: A Theory of Touch and Identity, Lychee One, UK
Clay Dynasty: 50 YEARS OF AUSTRALIAN STUDIO CERAMICS, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
Australia Connecting the world through Sculpture, The Sculptural Body, Monash University of Modern Art (MUMA), Melbourne
Idols | Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran & Renee So, Freemantle Arts Centre, Perth Festival, Perth
The Like Button, Roslyn Oxley9, Sydney
Meisnefloo, Norma Mangione Gallery, Turin, Italy
All My Relations, Art Projects Australia, Victoria
Spring 1883, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Melbourne
The London Open 2018, Whitechapel Gallery, London
One Day, Something Happens: Paintings of People: A Selection by Jennifer Higgie from the Arts Council Collection, Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds, Nottingham Castle, Nottingham, Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda, Atkinson Gallery, Southport, Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne
Morphogens, Hopkinson Mossman, Auckland, New Zealand.
Busts, David Noonan, Renee So, Runa Islam, Hopkinson Mossman, Auckland, New Zealand.
Selected By Michael Marriott and Jesse Wine, Limoncello, London, UK
House Party with Dzek, Kate MacGarry,London, UK
A Conspiracy of Detail, Mackintosh Museum, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, UK.
Dawn Chorus, Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds, UK.
Keno Twins 5, Barriera, Turin, Italy.
First Show, Kalimanrawlins, Melbourne, Australia.
Keno Twins 4, Villa Merkel, Esslingen, Germany.
Newspeak: British Art Now pt.2, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK.
Keno Twins 3, Galerie Susanne Zander, Cologne, Germany.
Jean-Luc Blanc: Opera Rock, CAPC, Musee d'art Contemporain, Bordeaux, France.
Swans Reflecting Elephants (Renee So, Varda Caivano, Rose Wylie), Kate MacGarry, London.
Revolving Doors: an exhibition in memory of Blair Trethowan, Uplands Gallery, Melbourne, Australia.
3am Eternal, Alexandre Pollazzon, London, UK.
SV07, Studio Voltaire, London (selected by Polly Staple, Christabel Stewart, Stuart Comer), UK.
Neointegrity, Derek Eller Gallery, NY, U.S.A.
The Small Painting Show, Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita State University, Kansas, U.S.A.
Satellite, Shanghai Biennale, China.
Family Resemblance, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne, Australia.
The Schanck Show, Cape Schanck, Melbourne, Australia.
Meeting Place, Keeping Place, The Arts Centre, Melbourne, Australia.
A Group Show, Kaliman Gallery, Sydney, Australia.
A Re-Constructed World, Linden - St Kilda Centre for Contemporary Arts, Melbourne, Australia.
A Short Ride in a Fast Machine 1985-2005, Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Melbourne, Australia.
Echoes of Home, Museum of Brisbane, QLD: Cairns Regional Gallery, QLD; Orange Regional Gallery, NSW; Fremantle Arts Centre, WA; Geraldton Regional Art Gallery, WA; Ivan Dougherty Gallery, College of Fine Art, NSW; Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, NSW; RMIT Gallery, VIC
The Infinite Fill Show, (curated by Cory Arcangel), Foxy Productions, NY, U.S.A.
Xin Nian, Response Gallery, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia.
Asian Traffic, Gallery 4A, Sydney, Esplanade, Singapore; Today Art Museum, Beijing; Duolun Art Museum, Shanghai; OCTA Contemporary Art Museum, Shenzhen; Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong.
Contemporary Collectors Benefit Auction, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, Australia.
The Freedman Foundation Exhibition, Sir Hermann Black Gallery, University of Sydney, Australia.
Calibre Art Project, Calibre, Sydney, Australia.
We Don't Charge For Looking, Block Gallery, Sydney, Australia.
Gertrude Studio Artists, Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Melbourne, Australia.
Departures, BUS, Melbourne, Australia.
Gertrude Studio Artists, Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Melbourne, Australia.
Yarns, Jewish Museum of Australia, Melbourne, Australia.
Tougher than Art, First Floor, Melbourne, Australia.
Sample, Kinki Gerlinki / Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne, Australia.
Insects (in collaboration with Nathan Gray), TCB art inc., Melbourne, Australia.
AWARDS
Monash University public art commission, Melbourne, Australia
Willoughby Bequest 2020, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia
Willoughby Bequest 2020 Commissioning Program, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
West Dean College of Arts and Conservation Residency.
Australia Council - London Studio Residency.
The Freedman Foundation Travelling Scholarship for Emerging Artists
Craft Victoria Artists' Grant.
Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces- Studio Residency, Melbourne.
Australia Council Grant- New Work
Pat Corrigan Artists' Grant
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Renee So: Provenance, Monash University Press
Vitamin T: Textiles and Thread in Contemporary Art, Phaidon
100 Sculptors of Tomorrow, Thames & Hudson O’Sullivan, Jane, Curators Radar: Renee So, Art Collector, Issue 91, Jan-Mar 2020, p. 80-85
Tendai John Mutambu, 'In Conversation - Renne So', Ocula, 6 April 2019
Gina Fairley, 'Powerhouse invests $180,000 into living Australian artists', ArtsHub, 20 November 2019
Gina Fairley , 'How the visual arts are leading Perth Festival', Arts Hub, 27 February, 2019
Renee So. Fifteen A Group Show at Kate MacGarry, Blouin Artinfo, Jan 14 2018
Adrian George, 'Renee So', Vitamin C- Clay and Ceramic in Contemporary Art, Phaidon, pp 274-277
Rebecca Gallo, Renee So Object Lessons, Vault Magazine Issue 15, August 20-23
Jennifer Higgie, One Day, Something Happens: Paintings of People, publication
Williams, Gilda, Renee So, Art Forum, April 2012, p.221-2
O'Reilly, Sally, Renee So, Frieze, Issue 146, April 2012, p.140
Sherwin, Skye, Artist of the week 175: Renee So, Guardian, 2 February
Pys, Pavel S., On the World Stage: Renee So, Australian Art Collector, Issue 55, Jan-March 2011, p.117
Sumpter, Helen, Charles Saatchi unveils a new Britart generation, Time Out London, November 11-17, p.55
Clare, Claudia, Material Return, Ceramic Review, Jan/Feb 2010, pp.50-3
Higgie, Jennifer, Nine heads and the difference in eyes, Uplands catalogue
Rainforth, Dylan, Renee So, Uplands Gallery, The Age, 20 April 2008
Backhouse, Megan, Renee So, Uplands Gallery, The Age, 19 April 2008
Cotter, Holland, When the Curator Is Also an Artist, Go Ahead, Expect Surprises, The New York Times, 09 August 2007
Davenport, Rhana, Beauty, Shadow-Play and Silhouettes, Art and Australia, Summer 2006
Seeto, Aaron, Knitted Masks: Renee So, Object Magazine #47, August 2005
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