Provenance

Renee So's idiosyncratic practice in ceramics and textiles is inspired by art history, museum collections and popular forms of gendered symbolism. Distinguished by its embrace of traditional crafts, cross-cultural thinking, and a persistent feminist worldview, her work draws on artistic precedents from prehistoric to modern times. Early works explored male archetypes through motifs of bearded men, full bellies and boots. More recently, So has turned to representations of feminine forms, including references to sixteenth- and seventeenth-century German Bellarmine jugs, classical sculpture, Assyrian collections, looted Qing Dynasty objects, London Underground tilework, the Babylonian Ishtar Gate, and prehistoric 'Venus figurines'. 'Provenance' is So's first major exhibition in Australia, presenting over a decade of artmaking including newly commissioned works. Curated by Charlotte Day.