Renee So

Renee So was born in 1974 in Hong Kong and was raised in Melbourne, Australia. From 1993 to 1997, she studied at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, graduating with a BA in Fine Art.

Renee So's Art Style

Encompassing a variety of traditional craft techniques such as ceramics, hand-woven textiles, and furniture, So's artistic focus revolves around depicting the female figure in prehistoric cultures. Infusing her works with both monumental grandeur and caricatural qualities, she weaves a tapestry of cross-cultural references. These references span prehistoric Europe, Africa, and Meso-America, as well as ancient Egypt, Assyria, and China. Her fictional personas draw inspiration from ancient ritual masks, military imagery, and aristocratic portraiture.  

So's exploration of materials is inspired by a diverse range of art history and anthropomorphic ceramics. Her totemic creations encourage viewers to contemplate how forms from mythology, both ancient and modern history, can be incorporated into or filtered through various mediums, resulting in intricate and highly individual visual choreographies.

Exhibitions of Renee So's Artwork

Renee So's works have been exhibited internationally. Her recent solo exhibitions include "Provenance" at the Monash University Museum of Art in Melbourne and at UNSW Galleries in Sydney (2023), "Effigies and Elginisms" at Cample Line in Scotland (2022), "Figurines" at Mossman Gallery in Wellington (2020), "Ancient and Modern" at De La Warr Pavilion in Sussex (2019), "Bellarmines and Bootlegs" at Henry Moore Institute in Leeds (2019), "Vessel Man" at Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery in Sydney (2016), "Renee So" at Kate MacGarry in London (2016), and many more.

Additionally, the artist has participated in various group exhibitions, including "Human Conditions of Clay" at John Hansard Gallery in Southampton (2022), "London Making Now" at the Museum of London (2021), "Hapticity: A Theory of Touch and Identity" at Lychee One in London (2021), "Transparent Things" at Goldsmiths CCA in London (2020), "Idols, Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran and Renee So" at Fremantle Arts Centre in Fremantle (2019), among others.