Sikelela Owen previously studied at Chelsea College of Art and Design (2006). She makes loose figure paintings that are based on friends, family and people of interest.
Depicted in moments of leisure, there is a prevailing insouciance that harks back to early modern painting of the 19th century, which championed leisurely pursuits of the new middle classes born of industrial capital wealth. Yet there is also an exoticism to Owen’s work, as predominantly black figures enact everyday rites amongst family and friends.
Undefined landscapes suggest foreign climes by means of electric, monochromatic under painting, and figures cast shadows across the picture plane. Though it is not the main drive of the artist, these subtly intimate paintings allude to a complex history of the modern to post-modern age, through an intelligent combination of adopted vernaculars.
Born: 1984
RA Schools student from 2009 to 2012
Gender: Female
Contact information:
info@sikelelaowen.com
Installation view of work by Sikelela Owen at the RA Schools Show 2012
Installation view of work by Sikelela Owen at the RA Schools Show 2012
Installation view of work by Sikelela Owen at the RA Schools Show 2012
Installation view of work by Sikelela Owen at the RA Schools Show 2012
2009-2012 Postgraduate Diploma In Fine Art, Royal Academy Schools, London
2003-2009 BA Hons Fine Art (Painting), Chelsea College of Art and Design, London
2017 Upcoming, HSBC Space, London
2014 People Everyday, NAM Project, Milan
Everyday People, Norman Rea Gallery, University of York
2006 Nyacomba, Vernon Mills, Manchester
2015 100 Painters of Tomorrow, Beer Gallery, London
Good Figures, The Mall Gallery, London; Jerwood Space, West Sussex
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Gesso Arts Space, Vienna
2014 Portrait Show, curated by Andreas Reiter Gesso Arts Space, Vienna
2013 Anthology, Charlie Smith, London
Young Gods Part 1, curated by Zavier EllisGriffin Gallery, London
2012 FBA Futures, The Mall Gallery, London