Olivia Sterling (b. 1996, Peterborough, UK) lives and works in London. She graduated with a BA in Fine Art from the University of Derby in 2018 and completed her MA in Painting at the Royal College of Art in 2020.
Sterling’s paintings present cropped domestic scenes that explore themes of race, class, gender and social status. Often set in kitchens, bathrooms or playgrounds, her vividly coloured and tightly composed canvases are filled with fragmented bodies and food, using slapstick humour to address racism’s micro- and macroaggressions. Language and colour codes – such as “p” for peach or pink – appear throughout her works to draw attention to the absurdity of racial classification. Her visual language is heavily grounded in British culture, with recurring imagery of Victoria sponge cakes, milk bottles, and girl guide symbols used to connect her experience as a Black British woman to a specific cultural context.
Sterling's paintings have been described as contemporary genre scenes – playful yet pointed, challenging viewers to reflect on their own biases.
Solo exhibitions include: ‘Your Cheeks Are Wine’, Meyer Riegger, Basel (2024); Dinner with a Show, Meyer Riegger, Berlin (2022); ‘Manslaughter’, Guts Gallery, London (2022); ‘Yowl’, Nevven, Gothenburg (2022). Group exhibitions include: ‘Rage Comics’, Huxley Parlour, London (2023); ‘Out Here’, Steve Turner, Los Angeles (2023); ‘Saints and Sinners’, Guts Gallery, London (2023); ‘The Object Stares Back’, Tube Culture Hall, Milan (2023); 'Touch-A-Touch-A-Touch-A-Touch Me', Berntson Bhattacharjee in London (2023). Sterling has also exhibited at major UK institutions including the Walker Art Gallery, Somerset House, TJ Boulting, Quench, and internationally at Steve Turner, Galerie Droste, and The Pit LA. In 2023, she exhibited at Art Basel with Meyer Riegger.