Bio

Photo credit John Powell

Charlotte Aiken is a Gloucestershire-based artist, creating visual impressions of the sky through the use of oil paint. Her practice celebrates the sublimity of the sky and explores her deep fascination with cloud formations and our connection to the natural world. A 2017 graduate of the London Metropolitan School of Art, Architecture and Design, Charlotte went on to win The Graduate Art Prize with Artiq. She has since been longlisted for several prestigious awards, including the Jackson’s Painting Prize in 2017, the VAA Professional Artists Award in 2023, and The Women in Art Emerging Artist Prize in 2024. Charlotte’s paintings are featured in collections and curations across London, and she has exhibited widely throughout the UK, including at the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition, ‘Only Connect’.

Charlotte’s work centres on the notion of infinity, as exemplified by her representations of the sky. The composition of her paintings is guided by the structure of the cloud formations she photographs. She chooses on occasion to use decorating brushes to accentuate imperfection and texture, recreating an impression of the sky rather than an accurate portrayal. Charlotte’s work reflects her distinct perspective, where she experiences a world that feels excessively exposed, pixelated, and vivid. She uses her paintings to comprehend what she observes; the layers of colour and brush strokes are physical manifestations of what the world looks like through her eyes. Charlotte's paintings invite you to pause... and look up.

 

Exhibitions

2025

  • March – The Other Art Fair, London
  • February – GOP@TEN, Studio 18, Stroud

2024

  • November - Guildford House Open, Guildford
  • September – ‘Fifteen’, group show, Artiq, Soho Revue
  • September – ‘Beyond Reach’, John Street Gallery, Stroud
  • September - 'Sensus Materia', The Old Chapel, Stroud
  • June – The Taster Exhibition, Lansdown Gallery, Stroud
  • February – ‘Elysian’ solo exhibition, Studio 18, Stroud

2023

  • November - Art on a Postcard Winter Auction, Gathering, London
  • July - Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, London
  • July - Art Below Summer show, Ad lib Gallery, Wimbledon
  • July - Art Below Summer Show, Hyde Park tube station, London
  • April - Art Below Group Show, Ad lib Gallery, Wimbledon, London
  • April - Art Below, Group show, Pimlico tube station, London

2022

  • Charlie Waller art auction, Belgravia Gallery, Cranleigh Arts Centre

2021

  • Luminance, Solo exhibition, Surrey
  • Transparent Waters, Group exhibition, Belgravia Gallery (online), Cranleigh

2019

  • Spring, Group exhibition, Belgravia Gallery, Cranleigh

2018

  • Solo exhibition, Cranleigh Arts Centre, Surrey

2017

  • The Graduate Art Prize, Shoreditch, London
  • Degree Show, The CASS, London

2016

  • Group Show, [ ], Galerija Miroslav Kraljevic, Zagreb, Croatia

2015

  • Group Show, Kachette, Shoreditch, London

2014

  • Hackney Wicked, Group Show, Number 90, Hackney Wick, London
  • Solo Charity Exhibition for Refuge, Walthamstow, London


Awards and Residencies

2024
Longlisted for The Women in Art Emerging Artist Prize

2023  
Longlisted for VAA Professional Artist Award 

2019 
Long listed for Jacksons Painting Prize

2017  
Winner of The Graduate Art Prize, ARTIQ, London  
A Chris Rowley Prize, The School of Art, Architecture and Design  

2023 
The Pump House Residency X ARTIQ, Nottinghamshire 

2019 
Hurtwood House artist in residence, Surrey