Renee So: Provenance

by Melissa Ratliff (Editor), Charlotte Day (Editor)

Renee So’ s idiosyncratic practice in ceramics and textiles, and occasionally furniture and glass, is inspired by art history, collections in museums and gendered symbolism. Her work is distinguished by its embrace of craft methods and cross-cultural thinking, an underlying sense of the comedic and a persistent feminist worldview. Produced to accompany a major 2023 survey exhibition at Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne, Renee Provenance showcases more than a decade of the artist’ s work alongside new commissioned essays by writers Hé lè ne Maloigne and Chus Martí nez and a conversation between So and exhibition curator Charlotte Day. Designed by London studio A Practice for Everyday Life, it features illustrations of the diverse art historical influences that inspire So’ s works – from the earliest known ceramics to objects looted from Yuanmingyuan (the Qing Dynasty Old Summer Palace) by the British and French in the mid nineteenth century.

144 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2023

Reviews

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Renee So: Provenance, edited by Melissa Ratliff and Charlotte Day, is a striking exploration of So’s multidisciplinary practice one that fuses historical inquiry, material craftsmanship, and feminist critique into a body of work that feels both scholarly and subversive. The volume traces over a decade of So’s artistic evolution, highlighting her distinctive use of ceramics, textiles, and glass, and her ability to challenge hierarchies between fine art and craft.

Accompanying the 2023 survey exhibition at Monash University Museum of Art, the book expands beyond a traditional exhibition catalogue. It weaves together critical essays, curatorial conversation, and visual documentation into a cohesive narrative about provenance not merely as artistic origin, but as a lens on cultural appropriation, colonial history, and gendered symbolism.

Designed with care by A Practice for Everyday Life, the publication mirrors So’s aesthetic tactile, intelligent, and self-aware. It serves as both a documentation of artistic legacy and a dialogue between art history, identity, and power. Renee So: Provenance stands as a compelling contribution to contemporary art publishing rigorous yet accessible, deeply personal yet globally relevant.