Renee So Figurines

Mossman is pleased to present Figurines, an exhibition of recent work by Renee So.

So’s material investigation has evolved from ceramic and textile legacies in the decorative arts of East and West into a figurative morphology. Her interest in representations of the female figure in prehistoric cultures (some of the earliest forms of material culture) and in mythology and archaeology, is then filtered through different mediums to form rich, highly idiosyncratic visual choreography.

For Figurines, So presents two works that draw on a multiplicity of lineages from ancient Colombian figurines to Assyrian vessels. Her new work, Venus of Valdivia II, is a tiled impression of the Venus figures from Valdiva, known for their signature elaborate hairstyles and as fertility totems. Adjacent to this work is Woman IV, a ceramic sculpture that evolves from Assyrian vessels. The slow building up of the figure, brick by brick or layer by layer, enables the artist to distance herself from the origin, and at the same time revealing the necessarily mediated nature of representation and perception.

Renee So (1974, Hong Kong) grew up in Melbourne, now lives and works in London. Recent exhibition include: Transparent Things, Goldsmiths CCA, London; A distant relative, Hopkinson Mossman, Wellington; Renee So: Ancient and Modern, De La Warr Pavilion, East Sussex; Bootlegs and Ballarmines, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds; Idols, Freemantle Arts Centre, Perth; MEISENFLOO, Norma Mangione, Turin; The London Open 2018, Whitechapel Gallery, London.

This exhibition is presented in association with the Fired Up Festival of Ceramics. www.firedupceramics.net

Photos: Harry Culy