Anna Reading (she/her) is a Newcastle-born artist, now living and working in London. She holds an MfA in Sculpture from the Slade School of Fine Art (2017) and a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from Central St Martins (2010). Reading is the winner of the Mark Tanner Sculpture Award 2018-19 and is an Associate Lecturer of Sculpture at CCW, University of the Arts London.
Reading’s work deals with issues around anthropocentric perspectives and the subsequent impacts upon environments, bodies, and human psyches. Her work looks to more-than-human life forms for lessons in survival within hostile settings.
Reading’s sculptural practice incorporates a wide range of processes including kinetics, performance and combinations of industrial materials. Her works clutch, wedge and bind matter to explore novel ecosystems and science fiction landscapes. Reading's work challenges the notion of built and managed environments, considering instead the unruly spaces at the edges of a land mass, drawn from her own experiences as an island dweller in the United Kingdom.
In recent work Reading has been exploring the creativity of molluscs, weeds and wild animals adapted to living within urban settings. The works emulate natural forms of protection and shelter, imagining alternatives to extractive capitalism through adaptation, creation, and hybridisation.
Newsletter
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Education
2016 - 17 Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, London, MfA Fine Art, Sculpture
2007 - 10 Central St Martins, UAL, London, BA Fine Art, Sculpture
2006 - 07 Chelsea College of Art and Design, UAL, Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Prizes and Awards
2022 a-n Bursary award
2019 The Elephant Trust Grant
2018 Mark Tanner Sculpture Award 2018 - 2019 winner, Standpoint Gallery
2018 Bloomberg New Contemporaries Artist
2015 - 2017 Siva-Finestone Scholarship, Slade School of Fine Art
2015 Creekside Open Award winner, APT Gallery
Residencies
14 Aug - 14 Oct 2017, Artist in Residence, Academy for Visual Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University, 51 Kwun Tong Road, Hong Kong
1 Aug - 13 Aug 2017, Artist in Residence, Slade Summer School, Slade School of Fine Art, Gower Street, London
1 - 30 July 2017, Artist in Residence, Non-Space, Rosengarde 11, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
Solo and Duo Exhibitions
Upcoming 2024
Public Sculpture Lewisham Borough of Culture, Lewisham High Street
2024
The Lands of the Free? solo presentation, Notice Board United, Uffington, Lincolnshire
2022
Brute, solo exhibition, The Shuck, Kristian Day Gallery, Letchworth Garden City.
2021
Tangle Up, Thames Side Studio Viewing Room - presentation of wall based works.
The Auguries, duo exhibition with Diane Chappalley, Informality Gallery, Henley on Thames
2020
The Pothole, Mark Tanner Sculpture Award tour, Bury Art Museum and Sculpture Centre
2019
Flock, The Broadway Plinth, Broadway Studio Gallery, Letchworth Garden City
The Pothole, Mark Tanner Sculpture Award tour, Standpoint Gallery, London and Cross Lane Projects, Kendal
Shell Shelter and Raven Ravine, duo exhibition with Pallas Citroen, The Bomb Factory Art Foundation, London
2017
POND, duo exhibition with Diane Chappalley, Kaitak Gallery, Academy of Visual Arts, Hong Kong
Sequin In The Dustrag, collaboration with Justine Melford-Colegate, Non-Space, Aarhus, Denmark
2015
Eat With Your Eyes, collaboration with Justine Melford-Colegate, LEM Gallery, London
Group Exhibitions
2024
Mark Tanner Sculpture Award: Thinking is Making, Cross Lane Projects, Kendal
The Beautiful Blue, curated by Vickie Amiralis, River and Rowing Museum, Henley
These Mad Hybrids, curated by Olivia Bax, RWA Galleries, Bristol
Outside In, curated by Anna Lytridou, Set Ealing
2023
The Amber Rooms, curated by Rosie Reed, Matts Gallery, London
2 for 1, curated by ThorpStavri and HAZE, 50 Celebration Avenue, London
Meat Market, curated by Sophie Nowankowska, 31 Tanners Hill, London
Still Here - Abstract Sculpture by Women, curated by This Stuff Matters, APT Gallery, London
Dog Show, curated by Enzo Marra, Thames Side Gallery, London
2022
Carry on Baggage, curated by Ben Austin, Galeria Augustine, Lisbon
Hypha Presents, 56 Conduit Street, London
Lost in a Just-In-Time Supply Chain, curated by Josh C. Wright and organised by Hypha Studios, Rushey Green, London
2021
The House Protects the Dreamer, curated by Josh C. Wright, D-Contemporary, London
Terrestrial Act, touring group exhibition and collaborative film curated by Hot Desque
- Thames Side Studios Gallery, 4th - 19th December, London
- Lunchtime Gallery, 19th - 23rd December, Glasgow
- Glasgow CCA, 14th November, Glasgow
- NewBridge Project 3rd - 19th November, Newcastle Upon Tyne
- Newcastle Theatre Royal 4th September 2021, Newcastle Upon Tyne
The Plot, outdoor sculpture presented as part of Contemporary Sculpture Fulmer 2021, BrookeBenington Gallery
2020
Five Hides, curated by ThorpStavri, Manor Place Baths, Londo
2019
Snails For Eyes, curated by Eleanor Davies, Kingsgate Projects, London
Amalgamation, The Cello Factory, London
Sugar Mountain, curated by ThorpStavri, The Silver Building, London
Every Thing, Assembly Point, London
2018
Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2018, Liverpool Biennial and South London Gallery
Every Thing, Assembly Point, London
A Field Guide to Getting Lost, curated by Ismene King, The Art Foundation, Athens
Consistently Inconsistent, Kelder Projects Performance Fest, London
Inside Job, Tate Modern, Level 6, Blavatnik Building, London
Cloud Concrete, curated by Stacie McCormick, Unit 1 Gallery, London
Rotating Edible Object, curated by Rosie Carr, Chalton Gallery, London
2017
A Study In Stone, collaboration with Soraya Smithson, Tarpey Gallery, Derby
LOOP, curated by Alex Bunn, Lubomirov / Angus Hughes, London
Woah, curated by M I L K, Division Of Labour London
OBJECT 77B, Felicity Hammond, Ludvig Gustaffson and Anna Reading, LG London
Authentic Tongues, Performance evening, Bloomsbury Theatre, London
Memememe, Crypt Gallery, London
2016
Holding the Vessel, Chopping Block Gallery, Peckham
Oddly Drawn Object, Hattie Moore, Lotte Scott and Anna Reading, Haunt, London
Forwards + Backwards, Dona Laura’s House, Lisbon
Five Minutes, The Koppel Project, Performance evening curated by writer in residence, Alex Brenchley
XXL, Hotel Elephant, London
(Un)Doing (Un)Making, Hardwick Gallery, Cheltenham
And To Dust All Return, curated by Charlotte Cullen, UNNAWAY, Huddersfield
2015
Alone in Boxer Shorts @ xxx.illeagal-emotions.xxx, online exhibition
Creekside Open 2015, selected by Lisa Milroy, APT Gallery, London
Business As Usual, curated by Perce Jerrom, S.T.C.F.T.H.O.T.S., Leeds
2014
Santa’s Garage, Hotel Elephant, London
Objects In Time, The Library Space, Battersea, London
The Time Is Now Ready For Delivery, touring artists video screening, Cinema 6 and Farringdon Factory, London
2013
WW Solo Award, WilsonWilliams Gallery, London
A_M Open, Arcadia Missa, London
Womb Academy, Meanwhile Space, London
Professional Experience
Current
Short Course Leader, Portfolio Development or 15 - 20 year olds, Central St Martins, University of the Arts London
Associate Lecturer, Creative Unions, Central St Martins, University of the Arts London, since 2022
Associate Lecturer, Sculpture Foundation, Camberwell College of Art, University of the Arts London, since 2022
2023
Lead Artist, Flourish, A.C.A.V.A. North Kensington. Family co-creation workshops
Lead Artist, RePresenting Bloomsbury commission with Camden Council.
2022
Lead Artist, Flourish, A.C.A.V.A. North Kensington. Family co-creation workshops
Artist Mentor for artist recipient of A.C.A.V.A. Graduate Residency
Art School Plus Artist. ASP is an agency that provides artists with training and connections for public realm commissions
2021
Lead Artist, Young Artist Programme A.C.A.V.A. North Kensington. Weekly co-creation project for ages 7 - 11
Visiting Lecturer, BA Fine Art, York St John University
2020 - 22
Course Leader, Advanced Diploma Fine Art, Hampstead School of Art
Course Leader, Critical Thinking, Hampstead School of Art
2018 - 22
Lecturer, Foundation Diploma in Fine Art, Hampstead School of Art
Course Leader, Material Inspiration, Hampstead School of Art
2020
Artist Mentor for artist recipient of Bomb Factory Art Foundation Summer Graduate Residency
2019
In conversation at Standpoint Gallery with Sophie Williamson, Exhibitions Curator at Camden Art Centre
Artist Talk, Cross Lane Projects, Kendal
2017
Artist Lecture, Academy for Visual Arts, Hong Kong
Press and Publications
2024
Review by Amie Kirby
Mark Tanner Sculpture Award : Thinking is Making, Cross Lane Projects
Published by Corridor 8
Published by Corridor 8
https://corridor8.co.uk/article/mark-tanner-sculpture-award-thinking-is-making
These Mad Hybrids
John Hoyland and Contemporary Sculpture
By Olivia Bax and Sam Cornish
Published by Ridinghouse and Slimvolume
ISBN: 978-1-910516-30-0
Thinking Is Making: Objects In a Space
Published by Black Dog Press, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-912165-46-9
2020
Anxious Objects, Interview, Sculpture Magazine, May - June 2020, Vol 30, No. 3, p62 - 69
Sculptors on Sculpture Interview
BrookeBenington Isolation Interviews
Corridor8, Shuttered: Short Reflections on Closed Exhibtions
Art Proof Podcast, Episode 7
2019
Elephant Magazine, Who’s Afraid of the Great Outdoors?
The Westmorland Gazette
Boundary online, Interview
The Pothole, editioned Risograph publication to accompany the Standpoint exhibition
Sculptorvox Magazine, Volume 3, interview, The Hand of the Maker, pages 148 - 157
2018
Feature in Ambit 234 pages 67-75,
Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2018 Catalogue
Art Newsletter MTSA announcement
Forced Collaboration
2017
UBE 5: Dress, pages 29 - 30
2016
UBE 4: Eating, pages 3 - 4, 21, 23, 25
2015
Quickdenseforest, Low Impact, pages 10 - 11