Etc.
(b. 1999, Malaysia; lives and works in London)
Ang‘s work is largely concerned with the sociality of architecture, the demarcation of public space and the minutiae of living. What features frequently in their work is the motif of enveloping soft body cushions and mattresses - suggestive of the home, or even, the hospital.
Using the technique of trompe l'oeil as a rhetorical strategy, Ang complicates the conventional viewership of painting as a spectacle of luxury. Paintings function as theatre backdrops; sculptures. They often work from found imagery that is then subject to a cyclical process of digital manipulation, printing, soaking and scanning.
In their body of work, ‘Sites’, they investigate the role antisocial architecture plays in the demarcation of public space and its relation to the state. Through the portrayal of this ‘metaphorical furniture’, these lyrical interactions between building facades and disintegrating objects serve as existential portraits.
For enquiries: angareena@gmail.com
Group Exhibitions
2025 Domestic Vernacular, Des Bains, London
2025 The Chaffeur, Condo London, Arcadia Missa hosting 243 Luz & Roland Ross, London
2024 On Feeling, The Approach, London
2024 Re: Representation, James Fuentes, New York
2025 Open Office, 243 Luz & Arcadia Missa
2025 Thing Theory, 243 Luz, Margate
Selected Bibliography
2025 “Condo London: The Bus Is Leaving Without Us”, Spike Art Magazine
2024 “Meet the most exciting young artists in London right now”, The Standard
2024 “’On Feeling’: An exhibition at The Approach”, émergent
2024 “’On Feeling’ Is a Reflection on Generational Difference”, Frieze
2024 “Areena Ang: Thresholds, Narratology and Figurative Painting”, Where’s the Frame
Awards & Residencies
2026 Inspection Pit, West Sussex
2026 Good Eye Projects, London
2022 Dean’s List, UCL
2022 Rosa Morison Memorial Medal, UCL
2022 Michael Farrell Memorial Prize in Photography, UCL
Artist Talks, Workshops & Special Projects
2025 Homme Football Club, founded by Areena Ang (ongoing)
2024 “Lecture by Areena Ang”, Eye to Pencil, London
Published Writing & Readings
2026 Upcoming Reading (w/ Silencio Solutions), Union Pacific, London
2024 Short story: “Minutiae”, collated by Ellen Poppy Hill, Dover Street Market, London
Film Screenings
2022 Aesthetica Short Film Festival, York
2022 Collective Moments Screening, Whitechapel Gallery, London
Education
2022 BA Fine Art, Slade School of Fine Art, London
2020 Study Abroad at School of the Art Institute (SAIC), Chicago
2018 Fine Art Foundation, Goldsmiths College, London