WEST DEAN COLLEGE OF ARTS AND CONSERVATION ANNOUNCES RENEE SO FOR ARTIST RESIDENCY
Renee So
West Dean College of Arts and Conservation announces Renee So as Artist-in-Residence in 2019. The three-week residency in May 2019 will support a solo exhibition of So’s work at the De La Warr Pavilion in Autumn 2019.
This collaboration between West Dean College of Arts and Conservation and the De La Warr Pavilion marks the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus. From its avant-garde, arts and crafts beginnings to its radical approach to uniting art, technology and everyday life, the Bauhaus remains one of the most important, influential art schools of the twentieth century. It produced radical new experiments in pedagogy, performance, film, photography, architecture and design.
Renee So comments that: “I am so happy and excited to be the artist in residence at West Dean, as it provides the chance to further my knowledge of textiles in the tapestry studio. My exhibition will bring together my non-hierarchical approach towards art and craft in recognition of the women of the Bauhaus.”
The three-week residency will provide So with the time, space and facilities for making new work, with access to a variety of resources and facilities, including the historic West Dean House and the College’s collections and archives.
So was chosen from a recent Open Call for artists that attracted entries nationally and internationally.
Alison Baxter, Head of School at West Dean College of Arts and Conservation says: ‘we are very pleased to announce Renee So for this 2019 Artist-in-Residence and look forward to supporting her as she develops new work for an exciting new exhibition at the De La Warr Pavilion. Renee was selected for her critical engagement with the values of the Bauhaus and astute approach to this burgeoning project.’
So will utilise the ceramics and tapestry studios of the College to produce a new series of sculptural lamp bases and fabric shades using these applied arts. This work will mark the starting point for a solo exhibition at the De La Warr Pavilion in Autumn 2019,
The lamps will be grouped alongside other large-scale bespoke furnishings in an interpretation of the Bauhaus core belief of gesamtkunstwerk or a ‘total work of art’, uniting art, craft and design within the modernist architecture of the De La Warr Pavilion. The exhibition will focus on the historical undertones of applied arts as ’women’s work’ in recognition of the many women whose contributions to the Bauhaus were previously overlooked, redressing the gender imbalance of the time. The exhibition will demonstrate that the interdisciplinary innovation of the Bauhaus remains as relevant today as it did 100 years ago.
Head of Exhibitions at the De La Warr Pavilion, Rosie Cooper comments: ‘Renee’s application stood out for the quality of her work, and for the way she has incorporated lesser-known histories of the Bauhaus into her proposal. We are very much looking forward to staging her exhibition at the De La Warr Pavilion, and to working with West Dean College again to support an exceptional artist to produce new work.’
The College’s Artist-in-residence programme organised by the School of Arts provides artists with the opportunity to research, reflect and experiment in order to develop the possibilities of their own practice. It enriches the learning environment for the College’s arts and conservation students.
Renee So’s exhibition is kindly support by the Golsonscott Foundation.
