About
Damaris Athene’s transdisciplinary practice focuses on the posthuman and how digital technology affects perceptions of bodily materiality. Through an exploration of feminist posthuman theory, Athene reexamines hierarchies in a post-anthropocentric world, blurring the borders between humans and more-than-humans. She is interested in what embodied experience can communicate when language fails us. Her work inhabits liminal space, slipping between the real/unreal, and swimming through permeable boundaries between bodies, the organic/synthetic, the digital/physical, and 2D/3D space. Work transmutes from painting to sculpture, photography, digital collage, and installations.
Athene’s practice mutates and evolves, feeding itself like the ouroboros and mirroring the unrelenting regurgitation of imagery on the internet. She explores the fluid interconnections of matter and life, the entanglement of humans, animals, the environment and technology. Uncanny illusions create a sublime and slippery reality, interfering with your perception. Doubling disguises duplicitously. Work folds in on itself and is kneaded into new forms. Depth is flattened and then reformed. Bodily leakage is contained, sanitised and controlled. Fluids attempt to flow but freeze and glitch. Digital flatness and perfection seduce but obstruct any sensual satisfaction.
Soft sculptures entice with their erotic corporeal forms painted with airbrushed gradients of colour. Photographs question authenticity through multi-layered re-staging of artworks in natural environments, while digital collages obscure the border between the digital and physical. Glass embodies the non-binary and bursts through soft fabric, appearing as tumours/eggs/portals/mucus, or coalesces like mineral or bodily deposits on laser-cut metal. Flat airbrushed paintings oscillate between 2D and 3D space while metal is a support or constraint, referencing medical and digital technologies. Parasitic installations invade rooms, combining soft sculpture and glass. Membranes stretch, concealing what lies beneath.
Portrait with - - - infiltrate - - -
Photo by Sarah Le Quang Sang
CV
b. 1992, Bristol, UK. Lives and works in London, UK.
Education
2024 — MA Ceramics & Glass, Royal College of Art, London, UK (Marit Rausing Scholarship)
2023 — MA Fine Art, City & Guilds of London Art School, London, UK (Leverhulme Trust Scholarship)
2015 — BA (Hons) Painting, Camberwell College of Arts, London, UK
2013 — Erasmus exchange, Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles, Belgium
2011 — Foundation in Art & Design, Falmouth University, Falmouth, UK
Solo Exhibitions
2025 — Undercurrents, SLQS Gallery, London, UK
2024 — Solo booth with SLQS Gallery for the Women in Art Fair, Mall Galleries, London, UK
2022 — All Trussed Up and Nowhere to Go, ] G A Z E [ Art Space, Shropshire, UK
2021 — If Only I Could Be 2D (Online), Compact Contemporary, Leeds, UK
2021 — I Wish I Was As Hot As My Memoji (Online), The Open Dresser Gallery, Sevenoaks, UK
2019 — Cheer Up Love, Peterhouse Brewhouse, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK
2018 — I Shall Walk Softly There, Wigan S.T.E.A.M., Wigan, UK
2017 — Lovely in Her Bones, St Barnabas Gallery, Cambridge, UK
Group Exhibitions
2026
miart, Bo Lee Gallery, Milan, Italy
Au fil du temps, SLQS Gallery, London, UK (Trio)
Almost Held, Studio17, Stavanger, Norway (Duo)
2025
Werkstattwoche 17, Lüben, Germany
Symbiotic Epidermis, Grey Cube Projects, HYPHA Studios Marble Arch, London, UK
Telepathy and the Unseen, THE TAGLI, London, UK
Who Runs the World, The Bomb Factory Art Foundation Marylebone, London, UK
The Luster, Display Fever, London, UK
MEGA Art Fair, SLQS Gallery, Milan, Italy
In/Visible: The Changing Shape of Womanhood, Curated by Alisa Lisovskaia, Galerie de l’Est, Compiègne, France
2024
Physical, Curated by Alex Fox & Kate Williams, Lea Bridge Library Pavilion, London, UK
Murmurations, Preston Fitzgerald Arts Advisory presents at Avenue Studios, London, UK
Prelude in Asylum, Asylum Chapel, London, UK
School of Arts & Humanities Postgraduate Show, Royal College of Art, Battersea, London, UK
A Landscape of Chance, SLQS Gallery, London, UK
Dawn on your skin, Feelium Gallery, Curated by Anzhela Popova, London, UK (Duo)
In Loving Memory, Guts Project Space, Curated by Charlotte Leseberg Smith, London, UK (Trio)
Echoes of Existence, Upper Gulbenkian Gallery, Royal College of Art, Kensington, London, UK
Finding Place, The Ancient Priors, Curated by Sophie Nowakowska and Alison Dollery, Crawley, UK
Unveiling Abstractions, Hypha HQ, Curated by Zoë Goetzmann and Melissa Vipritskaya Topal, London, UK
2023
Affordable Art Fair, MeetFrida, Hamburg, Germany
Robert Walters Group UK New Artist of the Year Award, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
current/s, PHOTOPIA and MeetFrida, Hamburg, Germany
Adjacent Colours, D Contemporary, London, UK
Meat Market #1, Disused Butcher’s Shop, Curated by Sophie Nowakowska, London, UK
Bodies, Gluttony and Me, Pictorum Gallery, London, UK
2022
NOW Introducing, Studio West Gallery, London, UK
AIR Open 2022, AIR Gallery, Altricham, UK
BEYOND IMAGE, MeetFrida, Triennale der Photographie, Hamburg, Germany
A BODY: FIGURE AND FLESH, FLOOR_, Seoul, South Korea
2:2 (Online), WetDovetail Gallery, Middlesborough, UK
Our New World, ArtGirlRising x Subject Matter x FORA, London, UK
Before the moon I am, Hoxton Arches, London, UK
Mind, Kingshill House, Dursley, UK
Warmth, Stay Home Gallery, Paris, Tennessee, USA
2021
Together We Rise (Online), Visionary Art Collective curated by ArtGirlRising, USA
Well, Well, Well, Leyden Gallery, Aldgate House, London, UK
Abstract, Fronteer Gallery, Sheffield, UK
Woolwich Contemporary Print Far, London, UK
DECONTEXTS, Loosen Art, Rome, Italy
Open Fragment (Online), Pragmata Collective, UK
Traces (Online), AIR Gallery, Altrincham, UK
EX06 (Online), FLOORR Magazine, London, UK
The Sky Has No Surface (Online), UK
CUTOUT (Online), Subsolo, Lisbon, Portugal
Emerging Artists 2021 Exhibition (Online), dōdōmu gallery, UK
REBIRTH (Online), The Holy Art, London, UK
2020
Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair, London, UK
Open Studios Online, Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridge, UK
The Cambridge Wide Open, Motion Sickness Project Space, Cambridge, UK
2019
Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair, London, UK
John Hughes Arts Festival, Jesus College, Cambridge, UK
Selected Open, Michaelhouse, Cambridge, UK
2018
Present, Perfect, Continuous, Zverev Contemporary Art Centre, Moscow, Russia
Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair, Woolwich Royal Arsenal, London, UK
Beep Painting Prize 2018, Swansea College of Art, Swansea, UK
PrintFest Sevenoaks, Sevenoaks Kaleidoscope Gallery, Kent, UK
Creative Reactions, St Barnabas Church, Cambridge, UK
Rejuvenation, UNA Gallery at St Mary’s Works, Norwich, UK
AWOMENfest, DIY Space for London, London, UK
John Hughes Arts Festival, Jesus College, Cambridge, UK
Winter Blues, The Cass Art Space, London, UK
Queen’s Arts Festival, Queen’s College, Cambridge, UK
2017
Open Exhibition, Hot Numbers, Cambridge, UK
Winter 2017 at St Barnabas Press, St Barnabas Gallery, Cambridge, UK
Platform for Emerging Arts 15, Leyden Gallery, London, UK
Open Studios 2017, St Barnabas Press, Cambridge, UK
White Clouds with Ink, The Blue Moon, Cambridge, UK
2016
Epidermal Dress: An Exhibition, Safehouse 1, London, UK
Clyde and Co Award Shortlist, Clyde and Co, London, UK
2015
Undergraduate Degree Show, Camberwell College of Arts, London, UK
Anatomy 2015, The Old Operating Theatre Museum, London, UK
2014
Hans Brinker Painting Prize 2014, Hans Brinker Hotel, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Open 2014, Peckham Platform, London, UK
Verge, Parkhall Business Centre, London, UK
7th Site Presents: Jar, Ongean, London, UK
2012
End, Camberwell College of Arts, London, UK
Awards, Prizes and Commissions
2026
Gilbert Bayes Award, Royal Society of Sculptors, London, UK
2024
art’otel Christmas Tree Commission, Hoxton, London, UK
New Contemporaries (Shortlisted), UK
Contemporary British Painting Prize (Longlisted), UK
New Blood Emerging Art Prize (Shortlisted), UK
2023
New Emergence Art Prize (Shortlisted), UK
Robert Walters Group UK New Artist of the Year Award (Shortlisted), London, UK
CGLAS Prize for Outstanding MA Fine Art Exhibition, London, UK
THE TAGLI 01.23 Collection and Mentorship Award (Shortlisted), London, UK
2022
NOW Introducing 2022 Art Prize (Shortlisted), Studio West Gallery, London, UK
2021
CuratorSpace Artist Bursary #13, CuratorSpace, UK
PERSPECTIV_A Feminist Photography Competition, La Vienisima (Shortlisted), Vienna, Austria
2018
Beep Painting Prize (Shortlisted), Swansea, UK
Aesthetica Art Prize (Round Two), York, UK
2015
Clyde & Co Art Award (Shortlisted), London, UK
2014
Hans Brinker Painting Prize (Shortlisted), Amsterdam, Netherlands
Residencies
2026
Studio17 Duo Residency with Valentino Vannini, supported by the Norwegian Arts Council, Stavanger Municipality and Rogaland Art Center, Stavanger, Norway
2025
GIRLPOWER Residency, co-founded & supported by Marcelle Joseph and Kimberly Morris, Salles, France
Werkstattwoche Residency, supported by Minister Falko Mohrs, Lüben, Germany
RCA/Konstfack Exchange supported by the Anglo Swedish Society, Stockholm, Sweden
Press/Features
2025
The Top 5 Art Exhibitions to See This Autumn in London, Tabish Khan, FAD Magazine, 27th October
Frieze Week Survival Guide 2025, London Art Roundup, 12th October
Damaris Athene’s solo exhibition Undercurrents explores what happens beneath the surface, 3rd October
The Top Exhibitions To See In London: October 2025, 2nd October
Damaris Athene Exhibition, 23rd September
“The Luster” Opens at vitruta London: A Reflection on Digital Presence and Desire, May
Between Worlds: Navigating the Liminal with Damaris Athene, Amici, 31st March
5 Questions With… Sarah Le Quang Sang, Amici, 31st March
Galeristin Sarah Le Quang Sang "Liebe kann eine Form des Widerstands sein”, Monopol Magazin, 26th February
Damaris Athene - In The Studio, video interview with Talking With Creatives, 9th February
New gallery championing women and queer artists to open in east London, The Art Newspaper, 7th February
À Compiègne, elles donnent leur vision de la féminité à la Galerie de l’Est, Courrier Picard, 21st January
2024
Wealthy spent 32% less on art in 2023, survey finds, Melanie Gerlis, Financial Times Weekend, 24th October
What Artists Like #6, Orlando Broom, New Blood Art Blog, 11th July
What Artists Like #4, Olivia Mansfield, New Blood Art Blog, 15th June
Unveiling Abstractions @ Hypha Studios, Made in Bed Magazine, 1st June
Dawn on Your Skin: the facets of beauty and diplosomy, London Cult Magazine, 17th May
The Top 5 Exhibitions to See in London in Late May, Tabish Khan, FAD Magazine, 19th May
What can and should the body be?, London Cult Magazine, 26th March
Crawley initiative explores "What do we need art for?”, Sussex Express, 20th March
2024 - Issue 98, London Art Roundup, 26th February
The Top 5 Art Exhibitions to See in London in March, Tabish Khan, FAD Magazine, 9th March
Suboart Magazine Nr.17, January
2023
City & Guilds MA Show 2023 Review, London Art Roundup, 3rd September
2023 - Issue 64, London Art Roundup, 15th May
Bodies, Gluttony and Me, Where’s the frame?, 25th April
2022
Highlights der Volta Basel. Auf diese Messe-Stände freuen wir uns, 8th June
2021
Curator Space Artist Bursary #13 Article, November
Residency on Transient @t.ransienttt’s Instagram, UK, 27th Sep - 1st Oct
Residency on Rubber @_rubb3r’s Instagram, UK, 13th-19th September
Feature with Interim Arts, 30th August
Residency on DUNA @projectduna’s Instagram, Brazil, 20th-22nd August
Interview with Danielle Kay Ash, 31st May
Interview with Helen Dryden, 28th May
Feature on AURA’s Instagram, May
Finalist Feature, CtypeMag, April
Instagram Feature, Do It Your Way, 18th March
Residency on After Illusion @afterillusion’s Instagram, 16th-29th March
FemDominate, The Mass, Issue 15, March
Week long feature on A Gallery From Home’s Instagram, March
Artist Interview with Holly Richards, Pipeline Gallery presents PipeUp, March
Ostrich Magazine, February
Artists Responding To…, Issue 6, February
Penny Thoughts #47, Online Zine by Snitch Publishes, February
2020
Christiana Ntetsika in Conversation with Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair Director, Lizzie Glendinning (work featured), Made in Bed Magazine, November
2019
Damaris Athene Interview, The Indian Curator, 6th December
Cheer Up Love review, Varsity (Newspaper), University of Cambridge, 19th May
2018
Damaris Athene interview, Art Reveal Magazine no.38, April 2018, p.6-11; ISBN 9781388503475
A5 Magazine, Portfolio #10, January
2017
Camberwell College of Arts Blog, ‘IN THE KNOW: Alumna Damaris Athene’s solo show, Lovely In Her Bones’, 2nd June
2016
Camberwell College of Arts Blog, ‘CAMBERWELL CAMEO: Damaris Athene’s Epidermal Dress Exhibition’, 27th April
2015
Camberwell College of Arts Blog, ‘Power To The People? by Damaris Athene’, 15th June
Art & Music Magazine, ‘New Era Estates’, Issue 29 - Spring, interviewing Barby Asante, Laura
Oldfield Ford & Jordan McKenzie
Talks
2021 — Studio Artists Live for Creative Careers Week, Youtube livestream, Wysing Arts Centre, 2nd March
2020 — Open Studios panel discussion, Wysing Arts Centre, with Soheila Sokhanvari & Lawrence Epps
2019 — Artist talk and panel discussion on the nude in art, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK
2018 — Artist talk, Wigan S.T.E.A.M, Wigan, UK
Collections
Named collection: Tabish Khan Collection
Private collections in: Milan, Italy; London, Cambridge, Oxford, Bristol, Norwich, & Sevenoaks, UK; Vienna, Austria; Norton, MA, USA
Teaching
2017-present — Associate Artist Facilitator, Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, UK
2017-2022 — Artist Facilitator, Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridge, UK
Projects
2026 — The Healthy Artist Podcast, joining Martha Lamont as a guest co-host from January to June
2018-2022 — Private View, I founded Private View Blog to interview women and non-binary artists
Photo by Sarah Le Quang Sang