Somaya Critchlow
Somaya Critchlow (b. 1993, London) lives and works in London. She obtained her BA in Painting at the University of Brighton before joining The Royal Drawing School, where she earned a Postgraduate Diploma in 2017. In February 2025, Critchlow will open her first institutional solo show in the UK: The Chamber at Dulwich Picture Gallery, London. Recent solo exhibitions include Triple Threat, curated by Hilton Als at Maximillian William, London (2024); Afternoon’s Darkness at Maximillian William, London (2022); and Blow-Up at Galerie Gregor Staiger, Zürich (2021). In April 2023, Somaya Critchlow: Paintings and Drawings, the artist’s first institutional show in North America, opened at The FLAG Art Foundation in New York, USA. In autumn 2023, Critchlow was featured in the group show “Pictures Girls Make”: Portraitures, curated by Alison M. Gingeras at Blum & Poe, Los Angeles. Critchlow’s work is held in public collections including LACMA, Los Angeles; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; the British Museum, London; The Box, Plymouth; and the Arts Council Collection, London—among others.
SELECTED WORKS
(SC-24-034) Somaya Critchlow; The Painter II, 2024; Japanese ink on paper; 49.5 x 42 cm; 19 1/2 x 16 1/2 in.;
Somaya Critchlow; Owls, Bats and Cats, 2024; Japanese ink on paper; 41 x 33.8 cm; 16 1/8 x 13 1/4 in.;
Somaya Critchlow; Wide Eyed, 2024; Oil on canvas; 27 x 24 cm; 10 5/8 x 9 1/2 in.;
Somaya Critchlow; The Outsider II, 2023; Oil on canvas board; 20 x 20cm;
Somaya Critchlow; Red stockings, 2023; Oil on linen; 10 x 7 cm;
Somaya Critchlow; Shadow play, Shadow self, Symmetry, 2023; Watercolour on paper; 10 x 6.5 cm;
Somaya Critchlow; Yellow Dress, 2022; Oil on linen; 33 x 23 1/4 in (83.7 x 59.2 cm);
Somaya Critchlow; Bedstead (Asymmetry), 2022; Oil on linen; Unframed:; 36 1/4 x 27 in (92 x 68.5 cm);
Somaya Critchlow; X Studies the work of Pythagoras, 2022; Oil on linen; Unframed: 17.8 x 12.5 cm; Framed: 34.6 x 29.6 x 6.2 cm;
Somaya Critchlow; The View Over St Erth, 2022; Oil on linen; Unframed:; 45 5/8 x 34 1/4 in; (115.9 x 87 cm);
Somaya Critchlow; Count Me Out, 2022; Oil on linen; 81.5 x 57.6 cm;
Somaya Critchlow; The Pink Iron Bedstead, 2021; Oil on linen; 10 x 8.1 in (25.5 x 20.5 cm);
Somaya Critchlow; The Manganese Violet Shoe, 2021; Oil on linen; 10 x 8.1 in (25.5 x 20.5 cm);
Somaya Critchlow; Little Hermit, 2020; Oil on Linen; 21.5 x 15.5 x 2 cm;
Somaya Critchlow; Cowboy Bebop, 2018; Oil on Canvas; 9 x 6.7 in (22.8 x 17 cm);
Somaya Critchlow; Untitled (Rope and Moon), 2018; Oil on Canvas; 8.2 x 5.8 in (21 x 14.8 cm);
Somaya Critchlow; Kim's Blue Hair With Dog, 2019; Oil on Canvas; Framed: 9 x 6.6 in (23 x 16.9 cm);
Somaya Critchlow; Emblem for Watermelon, 2019; Oil on canvas; 3.9 x 2.7 in (10 x 6.9 cm);
Somaya Critchlow; XXXyz (Blackface/Shooter), 2019; Oil on canvas; 9 x 6.7 in (22.9 x 17 cm);
Somaya Critchlow; Figure Holding a Little Teacup, 2019; Oil on linen; 8.35 x 5.83 in (21.1 x 14.8 cm);
Somaya Critchlow; Untitled (Pink Hair), 2019; Oil on linen; 10 x 8.2 in (25.5 x 20.9 cm);
Somaya Critchlow; Dolly, 2019; Oil on linen; 8.27 x 5.91 in (21 x 15 cm);
Somaya Critchlow; Little Susie, 2019; Oil on linen; 10 x 8.2 in (25.5 x 20.9 cm);
Somaya Critchlow; Untitled (Mandolin), 2019; Oil on linen; 8.4 x 5.9 in (21.3 x 15.1 cm);
Somaya Critchlow; Shelley X, 2019; Oil on linen; 8.4 x 5.9 in (21.3 x 15.1 cm);
Somaya Critchlow; Obligation II, 2019; Oil on linen; 34 × 24 in (86.4 × 61 cm);
EXHIBITIONS
PRESS
FINANCIAL TIMES
‘Six months with one of the most talented painters of her generation’ by Lou Stoppard
November 2024
TEXTE ZUR KUNST
‘The Lesbian Problem Toward a Black Lesbian Art Criticism (After Barbara Smith)’
December 2023
‘The Artists Depicting the Power and Strangeness of Breasts,’ by Zoë Lescaze
May 2023
‘A hard reflection,’ Somaya Critchlow and Katherine Angel walk through the British Museum
January 2023
‘Rising Artist Somaya Critchlow on Her Shared Sensibilities with Lucian Freud,’ by Charlotte Jansen
January 2023
‘Painting is Having a Special Moment’ by Waldemar Januszczak for The Sunday Times
October 2022
Frieze reviews Somaya Critchlow’s work as part of Very Private? at the Charleston Trust
October 2022
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