Sarah Maple is an award winning multidisciplinary artist known for bold artworks that challenge notions of identity, religion and feminism. Her work spans a variety of media such as performance, painting, installation, collage and photography. Much of Maple's inspiration originates from her mixed religious and cultural upbringing as a British-Punjabi.
She graduated with a BA in Fine Art from Kingston University and has exhibited her work internationally at galleries and institutions including Tate Britain, Golden Thread Gallery and York Art Gallery. In 2019, she was selected for Syllabus V, an independent learning programme run by Wysing Arts Centre. In 2020, she created a semi-autobiographical video work in the style of a sitcom which debuted on Sky Arts. For her most recent commission from the Decolonising Arts Institute at UAL, she will be artist in residence at Bradford Museum and Art Gallery and a newly commissioned work will be acquired by 20 UK art institutions. Her work is also in collections such as Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Soho House and The Hyman Collection. In 2023, Sarah released a brand new book ‘Labour of Love’ with KochxBos publishing. Sarah lives and works in Sussex.
"Maple harnesses her frustration, dismay and disappointment in prevailing attitudes into mature and thought- provoking work that challenges ideas around identity, religion, race, the artworld, feminism and freedom of expression. Often using herself as a conduit to challenge stereotypes and normative behaviour, Maple is adept at confronting complex issues that we are all thinking about with wit, irony and a startling honesty.” - Kate Bryan
BIOGRAPHY
1985 Born in United Kingdom
Lives and works in Sussex
EDUCATION
2004-07 Fine Art, Kingston University
2003-04 Foundation Course, University of the Creative Arts
AWARDS AND RESIDENCES
2023-24 Bradford Museum and Art Gallery (Artist in resident for 20/20 commission)
2022 Aesthetica Art Prize (Shortlisted)
2019-20 Syllabus V, Wysing Arts Centre
2019 Default 19, Ramdom Association Residency, Italy
2017 Arte Studio Ginestrelle Residency , Italy
2016 Eastside International Residency , USA
2015 Sky Academy Arts Scholarship
2007 4 New Sensations, Saatchi Gallery
CURRENT PROJECTS / EXHIBITIONS
2023-24 20/20 - Decolonising Arts Institute, Artist in Residence at Bradford Museum and Art Gallery
2023 Are you a Woman in Authority?, Phoenix Art Space, 30 Sept - 19 Nov
2023 Labour of Love, The Auxiliary, 28 Sept - 7 Oct
2023 Art The Hague (solo), 4-8 Oct
FORTHCOMING EXHIBITIONS
2023 Wasted, The Bunker, Udine, 7 Oct - 3 Nov
2023 Flow: The Exhibition about Menstruation - Museum Europäischer Kulturen - 6 Oct 2023 - 06 Oct 2024
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 Labour of Love, KochxBos
2022 Labour of Love, Solo Booth Art Rotterdam
2021-22 The Opposite To A Feminist, GIANT Bournemouth
2021 10 Years, KochxBos Gallery
2020 Sarah Maple Show, curated by Kate Bryan, Jealous Gallery
2017 Not My Cup Of Tea, New Art Exchange, Nottingham
2017 Power to the People? KochxBos Gallery, Amsterdam
2015 Keeping Up With The Kapulets, COB Gallery, London
2014 God Is A Feminist, Golden Thread, Belfast
2013 SARAH MAPLE, Tallinn Art Hall Estonia
2012 It's A Girl!', The Aubin Gallery, London
2008 This Artist Blows, Salon Gallery, London
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023 Where The Wild Roses Grow, Kristin Hjellegjerde
2023 Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition
2023 Headstrong, The Centre For British Photography
2023 Writing Her Own Script, Photo London
2023 Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From, Orlando Museum of Art (touring exhibit supported by Aga Khan Museum and Fondazione Imago Mundi)
2022 Matrescence, Liminal Gallery
2022 Power Play: Reimagining Representation in Contemporary Photography, Fralin Museum of Art
2022 We Are Birmingham, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
2022 Aesthetica Art Prize, York Art Gallery
2022 A Generous Space, Hastings Contemporary
2021 Frieze Art Fair, London
2021 Bums, Dio Horia, Athens
2020 Foto Festival, Schiedam
2020 Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From, touring exhibition supported by The Aga Khan Museum and Fondazione Imago Mundi
2019 Selling Sexism, Kendall College of Art and Design, USA
2019 LOOK AT THIS (collaboration with Skip Gallery) Arts Building Finsbury Park
2019 Art50, Baltic
2018 Another England NOW Gallery London
2018 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
2018 Reinterpreting Religion, Ukrainian Institute Of Modern Art, Chicago
2017 Otherwise You Don't See Me, SOHO20, New York
2017 No Place To Call Home, Kunst Vardo, Oslo
2016 Herselves, Blueproject Foundation, Barcelona
2016 The Practising Feminist, Tate Britain, London
2016 Maybe She's Born With It, Naughton Gallery, Belfast
2016 Keeping Up With The Kapulets, screened at Belfast International Festival
2016 SELF REFLECTION, The Untitled Space, New York,
2016 At Home Salon: Double Acts, Marcelle Joseph Projects
2016 The Other Art Fair, (Guest artist) Victoria House London (live performance)
2015 Perspectives on Peace, York Galleries, Pennsylvania
2015 Who's Afraid of Feminism?, A.I.R Gallery, New York
2015 Abject Subject, - Art Exchange, University of Essex
2015 Once Upon Her Time... (Zij was eens...), TETEM kunstruimte
2015 SHE DEVIL 7, Studio Stefania Miscetti, Rome
2014 JUVENILIA, The Naughton Gallery, Queens University Belfast
2014 50 Years On: the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, mac, birmingham
2014 Identity (in collaboration with WCA), gallery nine5, New York
2014 SCOPE Art Fair, New York
2013 Princesses, Warsaw Photo Days Festival
2013 RAW Art Fair, Rotterdam
2012 Culture Cloud, The New Art Exchange, Nottingham
2012 The British Cut, The Cat Street Gallery, Hong Kong
2011 Summer in the City - Contemporary Responses, Ben Uri Museum, London
2010 This is England, Uno + Uno, Milan
2010 Uber Collision: Epic Fail, The Anti Design Festival, Idea Generation Gallery, London
2010 The Man I Wish I Was, A.I.R Gallery, New York
2009 Activities of God, Siamsa Gallery, Ireland
2009 United Underground, Southbank Centre, London
2009 Dingle Film Festival, Ireland
2009 Massive Party, AGO, Toronto
2008 UK's Future Greats in NY, White Box, New York
2008 New Works, Scream Gallery, London
2007 4 New Sensations, Saatchi Gallery, London
2007 Turbulence, Surface Gallery, Nottingham
SELECTED COMMISSIONS
2022 The Gallery, The State We’re In
2019 What Does It Mean To Be British, BBC and Google Arts
2019 Art50, The Baltic and Sky Arts
2018 Cover for Harper’s Bazaar Limited Edition Magazine
2018 Another England, NOW Gallery, London
2017 The Ned, London
2017 No Place Like Home, Kunst Vardo, Oslo
2017 New Art Exchange (solo exhibition), Nottingham
2015 Art of Nuisance, The Sisters of Perpetual Resistance, London
2012 It’s just like any other job…, La Scatola Gallery, London
2009 Activism, Southbank Centre
2009 I'm an Edgy Contemporary Artist, Manchester Festival
2009 WWWW, Nick Knight for SHOWstudio
2007 4 New Sensations, Saatchi Gallery
DOCUMENTARIES
2022 Art That Made Us, BBC
2021 Marina Abramovic Takes Over TV, Sky Arts
2020 Offended by Irvine Welsh, Sky Arts
2016 Sky Arts Scholarship Film - Short documentary and interview with Melvyn Bragg. To view click here.
2012 I am Sarah Maple, directed by Directed by Ariel Fisher and Tyler Gurd. To view click here.
2011 Sarah’s Barbaren, VPRO, 40 min documentary. To view click here
2011 Don’t be a Pussy - ARTE Tracks. To view click here.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS/CATOLOGUES
2023 Labour of Love, KochxBos Publishing, 9789082194494
2022 A Manual For Protest, Photoworks, ISBN 9781903796573
2022 Menopausia Y Andropausia, Univerisity of Mexico, ISBN 9770185133008
2019 Body, published by Thames and Hudson, ISBN 9780500021583
2017 Not My Cup Of Tea exhibition catalogue for solo exhibition at New Art Exchange, ISBN 9780993265952
2015 You Could Have Done This (selected work by Sarah Maple 2007-15), KochxBos Limited Art Books, ISBN 978-90-821944-0-1
2015 Visual Impact, published by Phaidon, ISBN 9780714869704
2015 Airmail: Women of Letters, published by Penguin, ISBN 9780670078660
2014 Sexuality, edited by Amelia Jones and published by Whitechapel Gallery, ISBN 978085488-224-3
2013 Equals: Exploring Feminism through art and conversation edited by Nathalie Boobis and Anne Louise Kershaw. ISBN: 978-1905600397.
2011 Art & Agenda: Political Art and Activism by Robert Klanten, M. Hubner, A. Bieber ISBN 978-3899553420. Published by Gestalten.
2009 Private Views: Voices from the Front Line of British Culture by Peter Whittle, ISBN 978-1904863434