Leena Similu
Song by a Woman Giving Birth, verse II, 2020
14 x 10 1/2 x 12 inches
glazed stoneware


Leena Similu
Song by a Woman Giving Birth, verse II, 2020
15 3/4 x 12 x 12 inches
glazed stoneware


Leena Similu
Song by a Woman Giving Birth, The Born House, 2020
10 3/4 x 13 x 10 1/4 inches
glazed stoneware


Leena Similu
Grace, 2020
21 1/2 x 13 1/2 x 11 1/2 inches
glazed stoneware with gold


Leena Similu
A Queen A Crisis, Grasslands, 2020
31 1/2 x 11 3/4 x 9 inches
glazed stoneware


Leena Similu
Uncharacteristically African, 2020
21 x 18 x 13 1/2 inches
glazed stoneware with gold


Leena Similu
Drum Poem II, 2020
19 x 14 1/2 x 12 inches
glazed stoneware


Leena Similu
Akum Daughters VI, 2020
8 x 5 1/2 x 5 inches
glazed stoneware


Leena Similu
Akum Daughters II, 2020
8 3/4 x 9 1/2 x 5 inches
glazed stoneware with gold


Leena Similu
Akum Daughters VII, 2020
8 x 5 1/2 x 5 inches
glazed stoneware


Leena Similu
Akum Daughters I, 2020
5 3/4 x 7 1/2 x 6 inches
glazed stoneware with gold


Leena Similu
Ku, 2020
12 x 10 x 9 1/2 inches
glazed stoneware

Leena Similu 
presented in collaboration with Frances May

August/September 2020


Inspired by her West African heritage, and her son Cosmo, Similu’s work explores matriarchy, power femininity and fertility through pieces created under the moniker Yaya Situation. We were inspired to collaborate with Similu, as the artist has evolved within art and fashion, having worked designers Stella McCartney and Jil Sander before launching her own line Les Chiffoniers, and eventually making her way to clay. “I discovered ceramics when I was pregnant with my son three years ago and thinking about origins and the heritage I could pass on to him,” the L.A.-based British transplant says.

Leena Similu is an artist, and Founder: The Chronicles of LA, Les Chiffoniers Ltd.; former Vice President, Design, Equipment; Design Consultancy, Belstaff, Topshop, St John Knits; Head Designer Womenswear, Jil Sander; Design Director Womenswear, Stella McCarthy. She has recently exhibited at Loloma Projects, Pasadena. She lives and works in Los Angeles.

During her stay in Portland, Similu will collaborate with florist Manu Torres, whose brilliant multi-media arrangements have gathered national attention. In an Artforum critic’s pick, Stephanie Snyder describes a Torres arrangement: “ribbons fall across flower stems and branches while swaths of brushy vegetation and vibrant paper fronds are interspersed with traditional organic greenery.”