The RSA is partnering with ART FRIEND to co-curate a joint exhibition and opening in its historical Vaults space.
Building on the RSA’s 2025 theme of Connection, this show explores some of the key facets of connecting, our history and our environment in the modern day.
Come through to the RSA’s historical Vaults space on Level -3 to see the Connection group show.
This exhibition is arranged in collaboration with Art Friend. Ar tFriend is a non-conventional, inclusive gallery run by female gallerist Shona Bland. The organisation makes art accessible, inviting and fun by showcasing and celebrating art from artists of all backgrounds and identities, to help emerging artists get a foot in the door.
Carole Bury designs and crafts paper textiles, using embroidery and constructional techniques. Carole is an active member of the Pure Arts Group, the ArtCan Organisation, and IAPMA the International association of paper makers and artists.
JC Candanedo is a queer, Catalan-Panamanian multidisciplinary artist based in London. He uses photography, mixed-media and performance to start conversations around issues of identity, migration and displacement.
SO YOUN KIM is an abstract artist, a researcher in International Affairs and a public policy adviser. So Youn is also a Fellow of Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), a member of British Art Network (BAN) and Royal Academy of Arts as well as Art Deco Society UK, Art Deco Society of New York.
Kulsoma Khatun is a painter whose work serve as an investigation into the interplay between form, colour, and narrative. Although they experiment with different mediums, they primarily work with oil on a variety of surfaces.
Jean Joseph is a UK-based artist and cultural curator. She works across a range of media, crossing boundaries of dimension and form, influencing application in approaching subject matter – socio-historical, built and natural environments.
Passionate about art and textiles, Fran originally started her creative journey as a weaver, and now works primarily in painting. She dedicates much of her time to creating artwork in a contemporary abstract style, working across acrylic and graphite on both stretched and un-stretched canvas, board, paper, card, and, occasionally, her own linen fabric.
Isabel Fishlock studied Fashion and Print at Central Saint Martins and worked as a print and embroidery designer for brands including John Galliano, Dior, and Paul Smith. Since 2019, she has focused on painting, drawing on her design background. A love of colour, flamboyance, and a feeling of lightness continue to shape her work today.
Anna Sudbina is a British-Russian painter whose work blends process-led abstraction with lyrical, fragmented figuration. Drawing on a background in philosophy, psychology, and classical training. Her practice is informed by the philosophy of Derrida, particularly his ideas about memory’s role in shaping perception. Sudbina’s spatial awareness stems from a decade in interior design, and her work has been exhibited internationally, with collectors including Suzanne Brenner (The Met) and Brigitte Stepputtis (Vivienne Westwood).
Lexi Laine is a British photographic artist known for her ethereal underwater imagery, often created in remote and pristine locations around the world. Based on the south coast of the UK, she works entirely on a single breath hold, having trained as a freediver to create her otherworldly scenes without scuba equipment. Her photographs frequently feature female subjects and explore themes of fantasy, folklore, and the human impact on the marine environment. Influenced by baroque painting, Laine blurs the line between reality and myth. She studied Fine Art at UCA Canterbury and has received international recognition, including the 2020 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and sponsorship from Sony UK.
Zena Blackwell is an award-winning figurative painter based in Cardiff, Wales. Holding an MFA from Central Saint Martins, her work explores childhood, family, and memory, blending her own experiences with those of her children. Her expressive oil paintings often focus on nostalgic moments like family outings. Zena has exhibited at Saatchi Gallery and Hastings Contemporary, with work held in the National Library of Wales.
Carrie Jean Goldsmith was born in Canada and has lived in the UK for many years. After a career in the music industry and starting a family, she pursued art through short courses and a Graduate Diploma in Visual Arts from Sussex University. Her abstract works focus on colour, light, and tonal gradation. Her pieces often evoke the language of nature through deep, organic hues and a spontaneous approach to mark making, sometimes suggesting landscapes without being site-specific. Goldsmith’s work has been accepted into the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition three times and is held in private collections worldwide.
