Jo Grogan (UK Associate) is inspired by the beauty of working by hand and using ancestral imprints to shape natural materials. Informed by her childhood in Liverpool and a background in fashion, her sculptural practice uses ornament, surface and craftsmanship to explore how beauty and theatrics can both contain and disguise pressure, violence and vulnerability. Jo’s work carries spirit, humour, and hidden depths, with material and form acting as containers for meaning.
Her focus during the residency will be on researching how beauty, ornament and surface are used to contain, disguise or sell violence, particularly in relation to women’s bodies and the natural world. Jo will take this time as an essential space for open-ended making and play, allowing internal concerns to manifest physically without expectation, and for building connection and exchange beyond her individual practice.
Jo is currently in her third year as an artist-in-residence at the Sarabande Foundation and recently exhibited her work as part of Saatchi Gallery’s Flowers: Flora in Contemporary Art & Culture (2025). She is the recipient of a Wood Award (2023); a QEST Scholarship (2022), and holds a Master Carver’s Certificate from the Livery Company Skills Council.
Born in Liverpool, UK, Jo is now based in London.
With support from:
Armature
Artist’s website
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Please note all artist-in-residence biographies are accurate at the time of their residency. For up-to-date bios please visit the artist’s website.