Bowman Sculpture Gallery presents the debut solo exhibition by emerging British sculptor Joanna Allen.
Bowman Sculpture Gallery is delighted to announce Subconscious Playground, the inaugural solo exhibition by emerging British contemporary sculptor Joanna Allen. The exhibition will run from 1st to 30th May, 2025 at the gallery's Mayfair location, London.
Subconscious Playground is an exploration of human psychology, offering an alternative reality that strips away the illusion of normalcy to reveal a more complex, sometimes dark, yet playful perspective on our subconscious. Joanna Allen’s exhibition at Bowman Sculpture is particularly timely, as it comes just after the Centenary of Surrealism in 2024, a century since André Breton wrote the Manifeste du Surréalisme.
Allen is an innovative and exciting contemporary Surrealist whose work moves seamlessly between figuration and abstraction, culminating in fully abstract pieces, reflecting the shifting boundaries between our conscious and unconscious minds. Through her sculptural practice, she examines the tension between intellectual aptitude and primal instinct, as well as the way personal and inherited experiences shape individual identity.
The exhibition includes works that visually dissect these themes. In some earlier pieces like Shadow and Horizon, she employs striking imagery, such as part of an adult skull posed as a child's helmet and an eye-level plane of solid bronze through a floating head. These works explore the intrinsic nature of our learned and inherited psychology. Shadow, in particular, is deeply personal, emerging from Allen’s own childhood memories.
Mica Bowman, Director of Bowman Sculpture Gallery, remarks, "We are living in a time where the surreal is no longer confined to art—it is woven into our daily experience, shaping the way we perceive and engage with the world. Joanna Allen takes this concept further, not just reflecting the surrealist aesthetic that surrounds us, but pulling us deeper into the subconscious, where reality is deconstructed and reimagined. Her work does not just depict an alternative perspective; it forces us to question the layers of perception we take for granted."
Subconscious Playground: May 1 to May 30, 2025
Bowman Sculpture Gallery, 6 Duke Street, St James's, London, SW1Y 6BN
Gallery Opening Hours:
Monday - Friday 10 am - 6 pm, and Saturdays by appointment only
Further Information: Contemporary & Antique Sculpture Gallery | Bowman Sculpture