About
Pie Herring is a British figurative artist whose work explores identity, culture, and human connection. A graduate of Edinburgh College of Art (BA Hons Painting, 2018), she received the Carnegie Scholarship for her degree show at the Royal Scottish Academy’s New Contemporaries Exhibition. She has since exhibited internationally, including residencies and exhibitions in London, New York, Marrakech, Nairobi, and Ghana.
A travelling artist, Pie spends extended periods away from her UK studio, living and working within diverse communities. Her practice is rooted in close relationships with the people and places she encounters - each collaboration shaping not only her paintings but also her personal understanding of belonging, history, and human resilience.
At the heart of Pie’s process is a commitment to listening, learning, and reflecting. She approaches each project with curiosity, seeing the creative exchange not as an act of documentation, but as a space for mutual growth. This introspective element - where artistic creation becomes a mirror for self-realisation - is fundamental to her evolving practice.
Pie’s paintings often emerge through collaborative dialogue, celebrating local narratives, heritage, and tradition. Her work resists imposing interpretation, instead offering a shared visual language that honours those she paints. Across her portfolio, she seeks not to define but to accompany—inviting viewers into the richness of collective human experience.
Beyond the canvas, Pie actively supports community-led initiatives tied to the stories and places that inspire her. Whether through reinvesting proceeds into cultural preservation, commissioning artisans, or building long-term partnerships, she ensures the exchange at the heart of her work extends beyond the studio.
Recent & Upcoming Projects
In 2024, Pie Herring completed a year-long residency in Ghana, culminating in a solo exhibition at CaslidArt Gallery, London, in February 2025, created in partnership with Arms Around the Child, Ghana. Later that year, she undertook a second residency on Chale Island, Kenya, where she spent time living alongside a local fishing community. Through daily interactions and shared conversations, she learned about the traditions, challenges, and enduring significance of the Ngalawa - a traditional East African outrigger canoe that has supported generations of coastal livelihoods.
These exchanges led to a collaborative project to support the continued use of the Ngalawa not just as a cultural symbol, but as a working vessel with a sustainable future. With funds raised through her Kenyan exhibition, Pie partnered with local craftsmen and community leaders to commission the construction of a new canoe - built using traditional methods and materials. See The Ngalawa Project for more.
Exhibitions/ Residencies
I am Because we Are, CaslidArt Gallery, London, 28 February– 10 March 2025 VIEW CATALOGUE
Artist Residency Exhibition, Nomad Beach Resort, Diani, Kenya, 16 December 2024-12 January 2025 VIEW CATALOGUE
Artist Residency, Riad Alena, Marrakech, 10 January– 10 March 2023 VIEW CATALOGUE
NDOTO: Under Her Eye, Group Exhibition, Matbronze Gallery, Nairobi, 18 July– 27 November 2022
LAMU II, Group Exhibition, Talisman Gallery, Nairobi, 23 July–23 August 2022
LAMU I, Group Exhibition, Peponi Lamu, 1 July–15 July 2022
Women United Art Movement, Virtual Exhibition, 2–23 January 2022
FORTITUDE , Solo Exhibition 94-96 Wigmore Street, London, 9-19th December 2021
The Art of Resilience, Group Exhibition, High Line Nine, New York, 1—11 September 2021
I am Number Seventeen, Group Exhibition, Gallery @ OXO, London, 22—25 January 2020
Flawless, Public Commission, Channel 4 Short Documentary, December 2019
Doors of Opportunity, Public Commission, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, London 1—28 June 2019
New Contemporaries, Group Exhibition, The Royal Scottish Academy, 9 March—3 April 2019
Young London Painters, Group Exhibition, Arthill Gallery, London, 22—24 November 2018
Temperley London Live Painting, public commission in celebration of the RA's 250th Anniversary, London July 1—10 2018
ECA Degree Show, Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh 2—10 June 2018
I AM NOT YOUR BABY, Group Exhibition at DOK Artist Space, Edinburgh 6—10 March 2018
Running Up That Hill, ECA Third Year: End of Year Exhibition, St Margaret's House, Edinburgh 28 April — 12 May 2017
Wondering People, Summerhall, Edinburgh, 17—30 March 2017
Lemon, Group Show at Whitespace Gallery, Edinburgh, 11—13 March 2017