Anousha Payne
Working in sculpture and painting, Anousha Payne’s (*1991) preferred materials are ceramics, textiles, wood, rattan, metal, and watercolor. Her work explores the human pursuit of spirituality in object form, as a mode of cultural expression distinct from religious symbolism. Payne’s work processes the boundaries between personal experience, fiction, and myth; exploring how information is both lost and gained through the transition from drawing and painting to three-dimensional works, particularly ceramic sculpture. Often deploying reptile skin, her ceramics are intended as hybrid objects, a reminder of the fluidity and shared qualities between humans, animals, the natural world and inanimate objects. Ceramic sculptures are adorned with jewelry and textiles, acting as cultural signifiers while questioning material hierarchies and values. This process seeks to establish an aesthetic dialogue and personal visual language as a meditative interaction. Informed by Indian folk stories and personal fiction, she plays with ideas of the performative power of objects and chance, the combination of moral dilemmas and magic alongside characters with transformative qualities.
Works
Bird Woman, 2024, glazed ceramic stoneware, pewter, stone, 33 × 50 × 3 cm
Bird Helmet, 2024, glazed ceramic stoneware, bronze, 25 x 25 x 20 cm
Large Khur, 2024, glazed ceramic stoneware, pewter, stone, 45 × 55 × 15 cm
Pareidolia, 2024, watercolour and gel medium on stretched cotton, 120 × 150 × 5 cm
The sun with the dog stretching, 2024, watercolour and gel medium on stretched cotton, 140 × 200 × 5 cm
Old Tree, 2024, glazed ceramic stoneware, metal hardware, bronze, stone, paper pulp, pigment, natural dyes, wheat glue, modrock, bramble, bronze, dimensions variable
Young Tree, 2024, glazed ceramic stoneware, metal hardware, bronze, stone, paper pulp, pigment, natural dyes, wheat glue, modrock, bramble, bronze, dimensions variable
Old Elephant, 2024, glazed ceramic stoneware, metal hardware, bronze, stone, paper pulp, pigment, natural dyes, wheat glue, modrock, bramble, bronze, dimensions variable
Young Elephant, 2024, glazed ceramic stoneware, metal hardware, bronze, stone, paper pulp, pigment, natural dyes, wheat glue, modrock, bramble, bronze, dimensions variable
Old Snake, 2024, glazed ceramic stoneware, metal hardware, bronze, stone, paper pulp, pigment, natural dyes, wheat glue, modrock, bramble, bronze, dimensions variable
Young Snake, 2024, glazed ceramic stoneware, metal hardware, bronze, stone, paper pulp, pigment, natural dyes, wheat glue, modrock, bramble, bronze, dimensions variable
Young Shell, 2024, glazed ceramic stoneware, metal hardware, bronze, stone, paper pulp, pigment, natural dyes, wheat glue, modrock, bramble, bronze, dimensions variable
Old Shell, 2024, glazed ceramic stoneware, metal hardware, bronze, stone, paper pulp, pigment, natural dyes, wheat glue, modrock, bramble, bronze, dimensions variable
The dog helps the sun rise, 2024, Watercolour and gel medium on stretched cotton, 120 × 150 cm
Dog mother in contortion, 2024, Watercolour and gel medium on stretched cotton, 90 × 120 cm
No dreamer, In full bloom (Surahonne/Mahdokt), 2023, Ceramic, rattan, hardware, tzalam wood, 39 × 33 × 5.5 cm
The Gravity of Fur (Study), 2023, watercolour on stretched cotton, 20 × 50 cm
Surahonne/Mahdokt (Crushing Eggs), 2023, Stoneware ceramic, metal hardware, tzalam (Mexican walnut), rattan, wooden eggs, jesmonite, dimensions variable
Exhibitions
Liste Art Fair, Basel 2024
Liste Art Fair, Basel 2024
Liste Art Fair, Basel 2024
A faint glow, a stone and a shark’s tooth, Sperling 2024
A faint glow, a stone and a shark’s tooth, Sperling 2024
A faint glow, a stone and a shark’s tooth, Sperling 2024
A faint glow, a stone and a shark’s tooth, Sperling 2024
Tender Mooring, Deli Gallery, New York, US 2023
Tender Mooring, Deli Gallery, New York, US 2023
Tender Mooring, Deli Gallery, New York, US 2023
Tangled toes, twisted ears, Public Gallery, London, UK 2022
Tangled toes, twisted ears, Public Gallery, London, UK 2022
Bathing Nervous Limbs, Arusha Gallery, Edinburgh 2021
Bathing Nervous Limbs, Arusha Gallery, Edinburgh 2021
Hawala, Paradise Row, London 2021
Hawala, Paradise Row, London 2021
Dogmother, Arusha Gallery, Edinburgh 2022
Dogmother, Arusha Gallery, Edinburgh 2022
Dogmother, Arusha Gallery, Edinburgh 2022
Selected Solo Exhibitions
- A faint glow, a stone and a shark’s tooth, Sperling, Munich
2024
- Tender Mooring, Deli Gallery, New York, US
2023
- Tangled toes twisted ears (w. Laila Tara H), Public Gallery, London, UK
2022
- As she laughs (w. Anna Perach), Cooke Latham, London, UK
2021
- and here she dwells, Indigo Plus Madder, London, UK
2020
Selected Group Exhibitions
- Threads, Arnolfini, Bristol, UK
- Isabella Ducrot, Anousha Payne, Leila Tara H, Super Super Markt, Berlin, DE
- Cheirokmeta (Things Made by Hand), Dominika Dobiášová, Ádám Horváth, Anna McCarthy, Pakui Hardware, Anousha Payne, Hamish Pearch, Sperling, Munich, DE
2023
- I take what is mine, Arusha Gallery, New York, USA
2022
- Hawala, Paradise Row Projects, London, UK
2021
Press
- Juliet Artmagazine: Studio Visit Diaries: Anousha Payne in conversation with Giulia Pontoriero, Giulia Pontoriero, 2024 ↗
- The Brooklyn Rail: Anousha Payne: Tender Mooring, Chloe Stagaman, 2023 ↗
- SMagazine: Artist Anousha Payne is Challenging the Boundary Between Myth and Reality, Najma Eno, 2023 ↗
- artnet: 5 Novel and Noteworthy Artists From the Artnet Gallery Network We’re Watching This Month, 2022 ↗
- artnet: Spotlight: Anousha Payne’s Self-Reflective Paintings Explore Symbolism, Mythology, and Dreams, 2022 ↗
- FAD magazine: London Based Contemporary Painter and Sculpture Anousha Payne, Mark Westall, 2020 ↗