Rising star Shawanda Corbett shows how to jazz up ceramics
2 min read · 07 Jun 2023
Shawanda Corbett, still. Let the sunshine in (2022) copyright and courtesy of the artist
Shawanda Corbett is a young artist who is on the HENI News radar. Her totem-like ceramic vessels have impressed in solo shows in London, New York and Tokyo, and now in the Venice Architecture Biennale.
The young American artist Shawanda Corbett's HENI Score—a unique artist sentiment index—has surged by 166% as her tall, vibrantly colored ceramic works go on show in Venice as part of the British Pavilion in the 2023 Architecture Biennale.
Corbett is represented by Corvi-Mora, London, and formely Salon 94 (now LGDR), New York. She has had well-received solo shows at both in the past three years, as well as recently in Sai gallery’s Tokyo space.
Untested at auction so far, her works have been on sale for $8,000 to $20,000 over the past two years.
Born in the US, the artist is based in London. Many of her ceramic works and bold, abstract paintings as well as performances have their roots in growing up in Mississippi and New York. They are also inspired by a range of sources, including African and Indigenous American ceramics, jazz and cyborg theory.
Installation view, Shawanda Corbett “Neighbourhood Garden,” 2020, Corvi-Mora, London. Copyright the artist, courtesy of Corvi-Mora gallery
In 2022, her ceramics and a short film were featured in her solo show “Let the sunshine in” at London’s Tate Britain, part of its Art Now series focusing on mainly younger artists. Also in 2022, Corbett was part of “Body Vessel Clay: Black Women and Ceramics,” a group show in London’s Two Temple Place. Among her performances is Blackbird in Mississippi (2019) presented at the Serpentine Galleries, London. An impressive track record for an artist who is still in her early 30s.
The artist talked to Wallpaper magazine about the importance of music in her work. Recalling her childhood in Mississippi, she said: “Music wasn’t just part of life, but a soundtrack to it. We had music for everything: to get the mood up, to have company over or clean up. I’m used to that, so I wanted it to be part of my practice.”
To get a deeper understanding of Shawanda Corbett’s career visit HENI Dashboard; a unique graphical data tool illustrating an artist’s auction sales, shows, profiles, mentions and their HENI Score. You can search for any one of the 100,000 Artist Dashboards to quickly appreciate their trajectory as well as sharing via email, text and WhatsApp.