SHINICHI sAWADA: AGENTS OF CLAY
‘Shinichi Sawada: Agents of Clay’ is an American touring museum show, with 30 ceramics shown spanning two decades.
amid the silent flowers
An online exhibition to mark a year since Terence Wilde set up the collective ‘Amid the Silent Flowers’ in London. It showcases works created during that time, a new short film about the importance of stitch, and an essay from Terence about the cathartic process for him, and the group more broadly. You’ll notice a common theme of taking back ownership of ‘negative’ words and phrases said to them over years, now turning them into something positive. Terence initiated this by sharing that back in the 80s someone said to him that his work was ‘not bad for a queer’… so you can imagine where these conversations have led the group.
look here
‘Look Here’ – two exhibitions, a symposium and a book in Philadelphia from September 2025
SHIFT PRESENTS ‘KALEIDOSCOPIC REALMS’
A museum show in Nottingham featuring an installation of artworks and film by eight contemporary artists revealing a colourful insight into intuitive mark-marking in its many forms.
why we linger at site festival
‘Why We Linger’ at Site Festival 2024 in Stroud. An exhibition showcasing all the artists that the Gallery represents.
SHINICHI sAWADA: AGENTS OF CLAY
‘Shinichi Sawada: Agents of Clay’ is an American touring museum show, with 30 ceramics shown spanning two decades.
New York Outsider Art Fair 2024
It’s that time of year again when the New York Outsider Art Fair opens its doors to artists, new and old, and I am excited, once more, to be part of it. I have a vast array of talented artists to showcase.
MANCHESTER CONTEMPORARY 2023
2023 marks the first year Jennifer Lauren Gallery takes part at Manchester Contemporary Art Fair
INSTINCTIVE ENERGIES
A joint exhibition of artwork from Cara Macwilliam and Candice Swallow entitled Instinctive Energies, invites you to share the spirit and vitality of their art.
THERE’S SOMETHING IN THERE
Jennifer Lauren Gallery presents There’s Something in There, exhibiting three artists in Paris, whose work is neither contemplated or planned and the outcome unforeseen.
WHY WE LINGER
A group exhibition showcasing all the artists that the Jennifer Lauren Gallery represents
Hilke/Jean-Michel/Makoto: Love, Hospitality & Humour
Hilke/Jean-Michel/Makoto: Love, Hospitality & Humour offers the first comprehensive look at the work of Hilke Ohlhorst (1955 - 2021). The exhibition is a collaboration between Geyso20, La "S" Grand Atelier, Vielsalm in Belgium, Atelier Corners in Japan and the Jennifer Lauren Gallery.
Shinichi Sawada solo exhibition
Presented in partnership between James Cohan Gallery and Jennifer Lauren Gallery, this will be Sawada’s second solo exhibition of ceramics in New York.
New York Outsider Art Fair
It’s that time of year again when the New York Outsider Art Fair opens its doors to artists, new and old, and I am excited, once more, to be part of it. I have a vast array of talented artists to showcase including: Kate Bradbury, Nek Chand, Miguel Ángel Hernando, Carlo Keshishian, Pradeep Kumar, Cara Macwilliam, Mohammed M’rabet, Chris Neate, Valerie Potter, Shinichi Sawada, Marie Suzuki, Yoshihiro Watanabe, and Terence Wilde.
ROGER CARDINAL: CASTLES ARE ELSEWHERE
Castles are Elsewhere is an exhibition that commemorates the life of Roger Cardinal (1940-2019), whose fascination with the extraordinary led him on a wondrous odyssey upon which he encountered creativity in the most unexpected places. Roger is probably best known for his seminal book titled Outsider Art, published in 1972 - the first of its kind in the UK which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary. It was followed a few years later in 1979, with the ground-breaking Outsiders exhibition at The Hayward Gallery.
RWA Annual Open Exhibition
The 169th RWA Annual Open Exhibition offered a stunning variety of work from emerging and established artists. This dynamic, varied and uplifting exhibition included a stunning array of painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, sculpture, installation and mixed media artworks, and it showcased some of the most exciting artists from across the country and beyond.
Raw Intuitive
The Museum of Naïve and Marginal Art presented Raw Intuitive - their triennial exhibition following an open callout for self-taught, naïve and marginal creators. On display were 129 works from 53 artists from 16 countries around the world.
Art Et Al. X Apa: Intersect
Art et al. is proud to announce its second Australian exhibition, Intersect at Arts Project Australia, Melbourne. The exhibition will feature new international commissions, collaborations, and artists engaged with over the last 18 months. Intersect will also present a selection of curated video works introducing our 2022 programming ‘UK x Australia x Indonesia’, a year-long collaboration with Indonesian organisation Ketemu.
Oxmarket Open 2022
About the Exhibition
Three artists I work with were selected for the first ever Open exhibition at Oxmarket Contemporary in Chichester. Cara Macwilliam featured with the newest of her small vibrant coloured ‘Energy’ drawings, Valerie Potter featured with a small cross-stitch embroidered work, and Terence Wilde featured with a detailed black and white pen drawing. The works selected for the open all fall under five categories: applied arts (craft), drawing & illustration, painting, print & photography, and sculpture.
Stitches of Freedom
Join Alice Kettle and me in a celebration of the work of two refugees that Alice met whilst working on Thread Bearing Witness in 2018 – Monica Hamakami and Susan Kamara. Since that time, Alice has stayed in touch and continued collaboration and support for these two artists, helping them to realise their talents and giving them an outlet for their emotions and life stories. Stitches of Freedom showcases newer and older works, alongside two new collaborative works made specially for this online presentation.
Click here to view exhibition page →
ESPRITS LIBRES
‘Esprits Libres’ encouraged us to take a fresh look at unique, authentic, surprising artistic expressions. It featured the work of Shinichi Sawada alongside eleven other artists.
Conjure
About the Exhibition
Arusha Gallery presented Conjure, a group show at its new exhibition space in Bruton, Somerset, co-curated with Chantal Powell. It featured hand built ceramics that speak to the artist's hand and realm of the unseen. Shinichi Sawada featured with two works. The full list of exhibiting artists were:
Anna Hughes, Anousha Payne, Ashleigh Fisk, Bea Bonafina, Bella Hunt & DDC, Carl Anderson, Chantal Powell, Hannah Rowan, Jame St Findlay, Katia Kesic, Mel Arsenault, Rafaela De Ascanio, Rosie McLachlan, and Shinichi Sawada
El Sueno Al Fondo De Mar
Mohammed M’rabet is the last surviving member of a group of largely self-taught Moroccan painters who were sometimes referred to as ‘the Bowles boys’ after the late American writer and composer Paul Bowles, who promoted the careers of its members. He is the least well known of these painters, not because he is less talented, but, as a storyteller, this quickly overshadowed his artistic reputation.
Join me in viewing new works of M’rabet, and get in touch should anything be of interest. Thanks to M’rabet’s family for their help with this online exhibition.
Remembering Robin
I would like you to join me in a celebration of the work of Robin Wise who sadly passed away in 2021 aged just 59. Although originally from Stirling, Robin Wise had resided in Aberdeen since 1991. He was a quiet and gentle self-taught artist, who was recognised as being on the Autistic Spectrum shortly after his birth in 1961. He was particularly thankful to those around him at Newton Dee – a community based on the outskirts of Aberdeen, that supports learning disabled adults to live, as well as find meaningful work and learn new skills, – who gave him the space and support to develop his skills and his own individual style.
Outsider Art Fair New York 2022
Jennifer Lauren Gallery returned to the Outsider Art Fair in New York for its 30th anniversary edition. Held at the Metropolitan Pavilion from 3–6 March 2022, there were many celebratory events throughout the run of the fair.
Click here to view exhibition page →
To All the Kings Who Have No Crowns
Carl Freedman presented Jennifer Lauren Gallery, showcasing seventeen international, distinct contemporary practices, revealing a diverse collection of art forms including drawing, painting, ceramics, embroidery and found object sculptures.
Cracked
Tristan Hoare presented Cracked, an exhibition curated by Leonie Mir and dedicated to hand-moulded ceramics made without the use of a wheel. By removing the structure provided by a wheel, the exhibition focused on contemporary artists who construct, sculpt and mould clay, demonstrating what can be achieved with ‘a little bit of mud and a little bit of genius’ (Paul Gauguin).
Among the many artists that they exhibited, they were excited to be including Shinichi Sawada’s ceramic creatures. “Their eccentric, thorny exteriors are a mixture of historical totems and mass-manufactured motifs from popular culture.”
Participating artists included:
Aaron Angell, Amy Bessone, John Booth, Shawanda Corbett, Tommaso Corvi-Mora, Karin Gulbran, Ruan Hoffmann, Takuro Kuwata, Matthew Lutz-Kinoy, Fausto Melotti, Sterling Ruby, Shinichi Sawada, Peter Schlesinger, Katy Stubbs, Kaori Tatebayashi, Alessandro Twombly, and Sophie von Hellerman, amongst others.
Prismatic Minds
An exhibition at Flowers Gallery, looking at highly stylized visual languages featuring repeated figures and characters, curated by Jennifer Gilbert and Russell Tovey.
Super Rough
About the Exhibition
The Outsider Art Fair presented Super-Rough, a large-scale group exhibition of close to two hundred sculptural works by approximately 60 self-taught, visionary and vernacular folk artists from around the world. Overseen by Takashi Murakami, in collaboration with several dozen Outsider Art Fair dealers and gallerists, the show took place in a raw, expansive ground floor space in SoHo, New York City.
Super-Rough, a word play on Superflat—Murakami’s highly influential term for a new genre of Japanese Pop Art that emerged at the turn of the millennium, proposes the private andidiosyncratic universe of Outsider Art as an alternative to the ongoing spectacle of contemporary art and popular culture. Also referencing Outsider Art’s DIY dimensionality and handmade aesthetic, Super-Rough offers a diametrical departure from the slick seductive surfaces of a shiny consumer consciousness. At the same time it reflects Murakami’s understanding that in visual culture there is equivalence to all manners of art, a super-flattening of prior hierarchical distinctions between fine art and popular or vernacular arts, between what is professional and institutionally ratified and what is self-taught.
Shinchi Sawada had six ceramic works in this exhibition.
The Modest Genius
The Modest Genius was a group exhibition about raw art, held at the Centre Abbé Pierre in Normandy, featuring Shinichi Sawada.
Nippon Foundation - 2nd and 3rd International Open Exhibition
The Nippon Foundation Diversity in the Arts 2nd + 3rd International open-call exhibitions will be held in Japan in April 2021. Three artists from the Jennifer Lauren Gallery featured.
Art Basel: Pioneers
About the Exhibition
After Shinichi Sawada’s successful solo show at Venus over Manhattan in New York, his work was then profiled through Art Basel OVR: Pioneers. This online platform was dedicated to artists who have broken new aesthetic, conceptual, or socio-political ground. The presentation comprised a series of eight cereamic sculptures as a collaboration between Venus over Manhattan and Jennifer Lauren Gallery.
Thirty-eight year old Shinichi Sawada has kept the same schedule for nearly twenty years. On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, he attends Nakayoshi Fukushikai, a social welfare facility in Japan’s Shiga prefecture, where he spends the morning working at the in-house bakery, making bread. He spends the afternoons working with clay. Sawada first attended this facility, one of many similar institutions in Japan designed to support people with intellectual disabilities, when he was eighteen years old, shortly after he was diagnosed with autism. In the two decades since, his ceramic beasts – sometimes ghoulish, always fantastical, and deeply redolent of ancient mythologies still coursing through Japanese culture – have attracted the attention of critics and connoisseurs worldwide, notably after a presentation at the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013.
The Art Newspaper’s Tess Thackara selected Sawada as one of five artists to seek out at Art Basel: Pioneers - Read HERE
Art et al. X Cromwell Place – Season One
Art et al. held its first UK exhibition, Season One at Cromwell Place, London. The exhibition was presented as part of the UK/Australia Season 2021-22, a joint initiative from the British Council and the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.