Somaya Critchlow

Somaya Critchlow (b. 1993, London) is an artist whose work focuses on the use of drawing and painting to create imagined and psychological scenes. The works often use autobiographical references from memory and observation, as well as found imagery, particularly of contemporary black women and women from popular culture.

Critchlow obtained a BA in Painting from the University of Brighton (2016) before joining The Royal Drawing School, London, where she earned a Postgraduate Diploma (2017). 

Solo exhibitions include ‘Somaya Critchlow: Paintings and Drawings’, the FLAG Art Foundation, New York (2023), ‘Afternoon’s Darkness’, Maximillian William, London (2022); ‘Blow-Up’, Galerie Gregor Staiger, Zürich (2021); ‘Underneath a Bebop Moon’, Maximillian William, London (2020); ‘Sincere for Synonym’, Fortnight Institute, New York (2019). 

Her works have featured in group exhibitions at Blum & Poe, Los Angeles (2023); The Lightbox Gallery and Museum, Woking (2022); The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas (2022); Maximillian William, London (2022); British Museum, London (2022); White Cube, Paris (2022); Karma, New York (2021) and Hayward Gallery, London (2021). 

Her works are held in public collections including the Baltimore Museum of Art; LACMA, Los Angeles; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Columbus Museum of Art; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; RISD Museum, Providence; ICA Miami; Pallant House Gallery, Chichester; The Box, Plymouth; Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; and the Arts Council Collection, London.

‘Afternoon's Darkness’ is an artist book published following the namesake exhibition by Somaya Critchlow presented at Maximillian William, London in 2022.