Renee So

Renee So (b. 1974, Hong Kong, l. London) studied painting at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in the 1990s and following a London Studio Residency with the Australia Council for the Arts, relocated to London in 2005.

So has been the subject of several solo exhibitions in the United Kingdom, including: 'Renee So: Effigies and Elginisms, Cample Line, Thornhill, Scotland, 2022; Ancient and Modern, De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill, Sussex, 2019; and Bellarmines and Bootlegs, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, 2019. The significant group exhibitions in which she has participated include: Tales from Terracottapolis, Tŷ Pawb, Wrexham, 2022; and Clay Dynasty: 50 Years of Australian Studio Ceramics, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, 2021.

Renee So is represented by Kate MacGarry, London, and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney.

A Foot Bath for Bound Feet 2022
Glazed earthenware

‘Colony’ Snuff Bottle 2022
Glazed earthenware

Drunken Bellarmine II 2023
Knitted acrylic yarn

Ear 2022
Glazed earthenware

Imperial Pekingese Dog 2022
Glazed earthenware

‘Opium’ Snuff Bottle 2022
Glazed earthenware

‘Poison’ Snuff Bottle 2022
Glazed earthenware

‘Snuff’ Snuff Bottle 2022
Glazed earthenware

Steatopygous Bellarmine 2022
Glazed stoneware

Woman Holding Cup XVI 2022
Stoneware
Courtesy of the artist, Kate MacGarry, London and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney.

Woman Sans Culottes XV 2022
Earthenware
Monash University Collection, Melbourne

Renee So and Piotr Frac

The Information Age (Monocolour) 2022
Stained glass and lead
Courtesy of Piotr Frac

The Information Age (Technicolour) 2022
Stained glass and lead
Courtesy of Renee So

Renee So’s practice is characterised by its embrace of craft methods and cross-cultural perspectives, imbued with an underlying sense of humour and a steadfast feminist viewpoint. While So’s early work used motifs of bearded men, full bellies, and boots to explore popular archetypes and representations of (mostly) masculine authority, she has increasingly shifted her focus towards representations of women’s bodies. Drawing inspiration from artistic precedents spanning from prehistoric to modern times. Several of the newly commissioned works continue to explore this feminine form.

So has long been fascinated by 'art loot,' referring to cultural artifacts stolen from the East and traded in the West, often finding their way into museum collections. Snuff bottles represent one such item, valued for their cultural significance and associated social status, perhaps also due to the allure of the narcotic they once contained. Among the new commissions, several artworks delve into this connection to Qing dynasty (1644–1911) snuff bottles, examining their impact on the visual aesthetics of many well-known contemporary perfumes—such as Opium, Addict, Poison, and Snuff—which implicitly exoticize the East. So's oversized snuff bottles serve to highlight these histories of trade, the relentless pursuit of collecting, and the status and power associated with ownership and objectification.

The final two commissioned works The Information Age (Monocolour) and The Information Age (Technicolour) are the first artworks that So has created in stained glass, marking the initial instance of collaborative making. The materiality of glass extends her exploration of various craft practices. These stylised portraits are tailored to the internet age yet evoke the feeling of an artefact speaking to a speculative future audience.

Co-commissioned by UNSW Galleries and Monash University Museum of Art | MUMA and presented in the exhibition 'Renee So: Provenance’ at UNSW Galleries and Monash University Museum of Art | MUMA, 2023.