The little gallery telling the bigger story...
AMY OLIVER
I am a UK based self-taught conceptual artist and experimental photographer, and founder and curator of The House of Smalls. I began my art career in 2016 following completion of a parliamentary role in the House of Commons working on the evidence research element of today's UK Modern Slavery Act. I began The House of Smalls (dollhouse project) whilst working full time in NHS Adult Mental Health during the covid lockdowns in 2020, and later left a separate NHS position in a category A men's prison to take a leap into the complete unknown and open THOS as a full sized gallery in 2023.
My work draws upon feminist narratives exploring vulnerability, resilience, and societal stigmas facing women and I often use mannequins in my work - their anonymity and uniformity enable me to tackle subjects such as gender-based violence and women’s health on a human but impersonal level. Vintage female mannequins generally conform to male gaze idealism and using them to create work disrupting that cliché is an important element of my practice.
My work has been exhibited widely throughout the UK and Europe, in Japan and the US; and in June-July 2019 I had my first solo show, Still Life, at The Jam Factory, Oxford.
The House of Smalls has been featured in a number of online and physical publications, including Embroidery Magazine, ArtVox London, Flux Magazine, and Inspirational.
CURATED SHOWS
THE HOUSE OF SMALLS, EDINBURGH
Waiting to Exhale
The Weight of Waiting
STOP
Beneath The Veil
We Are The Witches II. We Are, Hear
The Ascent of Man
Contexture
childhood, interrupted
HIDDEN
The Time of Her Life IV
Moral Fibre
THE DOLLHOUSE AT THE HOUSE OF SMALLS
Waiting to Exhale
The Weight of Waiting
STOP
Beneath The Veil
We Are The Witches II. We Are, Hear
The Ascent of Man
Contexture
childhood, interrupted
HIDDEN
The Time of Her Life IV
Moral Fibre
Between The Lines
We Are The Witches
In Memory Of
DOLL
The Time of Her Life III
SCAR
Walk The Line
The Time of Her Life II (Fronteer Independent Art Fair)
Shadow (Fronteer Independent Art Fair)
CONFINED
It's My Life
A Winter's Tale
Mirror Mirror on the Wall
Vintage Castle Eaton
This Volatile State
The Time of Her Life (co-curated with Catherine Oliver)
The Portrait Within
Facing It
THE HOUSE OF SMALLS, CHIPPING CAMPDEN
Between The Lines
We Are The Witches
In Memory Of
DOLL
The Time of Her Life III
SCAR
Walk The Line
'(In)visible' by Atramental (co-curated with Jenni Bea), Espacio Gallery, London
CURRENT SHOWS/EVENTS
The Himalayan Garden & Sculpture Park, Ripon (until November 2026)
PREVIOUS SHOWS/EVENTS
Upside Down by PH21 Gallery, Gothic Quarter, Barcelona
BBA One Shot Award, Berlin
Open Art Special by ArtNumber23, Rome
Monochrome 2 by Glasgow Gallery of Photography, Glasgow
The Fronteer Open 2022, by Fronteer Art, Exchange Place Studios, Sheffield
Motion by PH21 Gallery, Experimental Center of Photography, Rome (Honourable mention)
Broadway Arts Festival Open Art Competition Finalist 2022, Broadway Museum & Art Gallery, Broadway, Worcs
Get Out of Your Skull, travelling art project by 10Dence Gallery, Belgium, France & The Netherlands
The Absurd by FUBAR Collective, The Crypt, Euston, London
#43Artists by Cultivate (online)
Emergent Vision by Uncovered Collective at Copeland Road, London
Vienna Calling II 'All You Need is Love' by Atelier Cool Pool & ArtCan at Galerie Art Pool, Vienna, Austria
The Art Hunt by Sweet 'Art, London
You Can't Paint That! by Smash The Narrative at NDSM Fuse, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Trenton 2020 'AAN 2020 Virtual Selects Exhibition', New Jersey, US (online)
Art All Night Trenton 2020' New Jersey, US (online)
The Resilient Self by The Artists' Pool at Espacio Gallery, London
Depiction - the human form at Heseltine Gallery, Truro School, Truro
Chapter I by ArtNumber23, Thissio, Athens, Greece
Peerfest 2019'by Mind, West Bromwich Albion FC, Birmingham
Sheroes-Revoluciones by Lon-Art, Ugly Duck, London
The Death of Art by Sweet 'Art, The Stash Gallery, Vout-O-Reenee’s, London
Still Life (solo show), The Jam Factory, Boiler Room Gallery, Oxford
Uncertainty & The Unknown by City Arts Nottingham & the Institute of Mental Health, IMH, Nottingham
Dancing with Demons, DWD Events (charity fundraiser for Mind), Create Centre, Bristol
Portraits Without Faces by PH21 Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
Have a H'Art by Sweet 'Art (fundraising event), The Stash Gallery, Vout-O-Reenee’s, London
Twitter Art Exhibit (postcard fundraiser for Mind), Out of The Blue Drill Hall, Edinburgh
FLUX Exhibition, The National Army Museum, Chelsea, London
Nostalgia by Artnumber23, Misc. Art Center, Timisoara, Romania/TOON, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Ich Will (Rammstein themed club night) by 8 Music Group, Nightclub Kolis, London
Unspoken by Sweet 'Art, The Stash Gallery, Vout-O-Reenee’s, London
Illuminate Herstory exhibition, St Catherine's College, University of Oxford
Pink by Clouds Art Coffee, Suginami, Tokyo
Intent by Cultivate at BMST Space, London
TRIBE17 by Chrom-Art, The Bargehouse, Oxo Wharf Tower, London
Art Event by Nasty Women UK, Stour Space, London
FemFest by Sweet 'Art in partnership with Ugly Duck, London
Mental Health Charity Fundraising Auction by Chilli Studios at Holy Biscuit Gallery, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
Stimulus by Artnumber23, Greenhouse, Berlin/Municipal Art Gallery of Piraeus, Athens/Menier Gallery, London
At This Point In Time by WITP, Scottish Arts Club, Edinburgh
Gluttony by Nude Tin Can Gallery, St Albans, Herts
East Kent Artists' Open House weekends, Margate, Kent
Humans by Made In.. Art Gallery, Venice, Italy
The Nude by Candid Arts Trust, Islington, London
Breakfast in Beirut by Artiki Eventi, Treviso, Italy