Hettie Inniss' work responds to multisensory influences and bodily experiences, capturing and preserving a moment inflected by scent, light, sound and memory. Inniss is an artist whose practice questions the stability of self. Her distinctive canvases seek to create spaces with their own physics, their own truths and their own multidimensional perspectives. Inniss’ vibrant colour palette allows her to articulate memory and the act of remembering – capturing the afterburn of an image or the light seen behind closed eyes with a warmth and physicality that brings a bodily presence into her canvases.
Working from her involuntary memories, Inniss takes a Proustian approach to making, focusing on the unexpected moments where our senses are stimulated and the mind transports us to familiar or uncanny spaces. Inniss’ unique response to multisensory stimuli in her work allows her to explore how a memory might taste or sound, and how she can capture these ineffable sensations in paint and texture. Her practice tests and resists the boundaries of representational painting, connecting to Inniss’ belief in Black Fluidity as a liberating approach to life and art.
Hettie Inniss (b. 1999, London, UK) lives and works in London (UK). Inniss is a British Caribbean artist who graduated from the Painting MA course at the Royal College of Art, London (UK) in 2023, and was awarded the Sir Frank Bowling Scholarship in 2022. Inniss has participated in multiple group exhibitions, most recently a duo presentation with Cece Philips, Digestif - [diːʒɛˈstiːf], Palazzo Monti, Brescia, Italy (IT). The Tate Collective also commissioned her to create an artwork in response to a piece in their collection in October 2023.
This year the artist had her first solo exhibitions at GRIMM, London (UK) and GRIMM, New York, NY (US).
-
A Room Hung With Thoughts: British Painting Now
Curated by Tom Morton February 15 - May 11, 2025 Green Family Art Foundation, Dallas, TX (US) -
Hettie Inniss
Everything Soup October 25 - December 7, 2024 GRIMM 54 White St, New York, NY (US) -
Hettie Inniss
Rememories from the Floating World May 30 - July 20, 2024 GRIMM 2 Bourdon Street, London (UK) -
The Painted Room
Curated by Caroline Walker November 3 - December 22, 2023 GRIMM Keizersgracht 241, Amsterdam (NL)
-
Hettie Inniss Transports Us to Her Floating World
Tim Morton, Frieze, June 20, 2024 -
Hettie Inniss in the Studio
Phoebe Bradford, Ocula, May 31, 2024 -
Involuntary Memories
Johanna Siegler & Clemens Müller, Kennich, May 30, 2024 -
Contemporary Artists’ Striking Portrayals of Doors Tap into Surrealist Traditions
Emily Steer, Artsy, January 4, 2024 -
Caroline Walker curates as Grimm Amsterdam explores domesticity in art
Emily Steer, Wallpaper*, November 12, 2023 -
Art and Design student Hettie Inniss wins prestigious Berkofsky Arts Award
School of Design – University of Leeds, May 7, 2022
-
The Artsy Vanguard 2025: Hettie Inniss
October 21, 2024GRIMM is proud to announce that Hettie Inniss has been included in the Artsy Vanguard 2025. The Artsy Vanguard is an annual feature highlighting the...Read more -
Hettie Inniss joins GRIMM
Inniss to join GRIMM with a solo exhibition in London (UK) in May 2024 December 13, 2023GRIMM is delighted to announce the international representation of British Carribean artist Hettie Inniss (b. 1999, Hackney, London, UK), whose work responds to multisensory influences...Read more