This Spring, the artist Phoebe Collings-James (b.1987) will bring new sculpture and ceramic work to Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery, the first time these works will be shown in the UK.
Phoebe Collings-James: a rose, a bridge, a house will feature over 17 works, including clay paintings, armour and sculpture, mostly human-scale, that will fill the main galleries and Breakfast Room of renowned architect Sir John Soane’s former home.
The Jamaican British artist’s work includes shifts in tone and finish, featuring a rich array of markings and textures, and draws on notions of language, feelings and violence. They have been exhibited around the world, from Berlin to New York.
The works are influenced by cuneiform tablets and Ashanti folklore, as well as multi-disciplinary practices, including the artist’s extensive work with sound design.
New sculptures from the ongoing series Infidels (2023) will be on display, which use Caribbean coiling techniques. They feature elongated forms and open mouths, suggesting a human or animal-like act of screaming, expressing joy, resistance or expulsion. The works continue Collings-James’s investigation of the concept of the infidel as representing the figure of the outsider.
Mouthpiece for Terry I and II (2025) include brass mouthpieces for wind instruments set in unfired red clay blocks, paying tribute to multidisciplinary American artist and musician Terry Adkins (1953-2014), who would frequently incorporate elements of music or musical instruments into his artworks.
Work from the series Clay Paintings (2025-) will also be displayed. Small square works that appear dream-like and fragmented show the artist’s exploration of clay as a living material in which form and texture can be manipulated and changed.
A work from the Armour series (The subtle rules the dense, 2023) – a chestplate – will be displayed in the Manor on a pedestal. Incorporating both fragility and strength, the chestplate is a mix of inspiration from West African body masks as well as Roman soldiers, a connection to Italy, where Collings-James first discovered the power and beauty of ceramics during an artistic residency in 2014.
These works and many more will give visitors the opportunity to see the work of one of the most exciting young artists working with ceramics today. The interiors of Sir John Soane’s former home will once again be filled with ceramics, but unlike the vases and vessels that would have been found on display there during the 19th century, these new works showcase a new radical approach in the context of a space dedicated to innovation and design.
Phoebe Collings-James said:
“I have been devoted to this body of work which has been travelling in exhibitions since last year. It’s exciting for this series of Infidels and clay paintings to come home to London, together within the galleries at Pitzhanger.”
Richard Parry, Head of Programmes at Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery, said:
“We are thrilled to be exhibiting Phoebe Collings-James’s richly textured sculpture and clay paintings at Pitzhanger. The sculptures draw us in to examine every surface, form and detail of the how the clay has been worked.”
Phoebe Collings-James: a rose, a bridge, a house, 1st April – 14th June 2026, Pitzhanger
Read our interview with Phoebe Collings-James: HERE
About the artist
Phoebe Collings-James is a Jamaican British artist whose multi-disciplinary practice encompasses painting, sculpture, ceramics, sound and video, with a recent focus on ceramics. Having studied fine art in London, they were introduced to ceramics in 2014 during artist residency with Nuove in Italy. In 2019 Collings-James moved from Brooklyn, USA to East London, UK, to continue their ceramics journey in the neighbourhood they grew up in. In autumn 2021, as the Freelands Ceramic Fellow they exhibited their first institutional solo show of ceramic works at Camden Arts Centre, London. In 2021 Collings-James launched Mudbelly Teaches, a free ceramics course for Black people in London, taught by Black ceramicists and artists. Recent solo exhibitions include Albuquerque Foundation, Portugal (opens February 2026); KINDL, Berlin, Germany (2025); SculptureCenter, New York, US (2024); Arcadia Missa, London, UK (2023) and Camden Arts Centre (2021). Their work is in the collection of York Art Gallery, Kadist Foundation, Arts Council England and Southampton City Art Gallery, among other places.
