ROLAND KNOWLDEN

𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝟰 - 𝗘𝗫𝗛𝗜𝗕𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗦𝗧: 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻 Roland Knowlden (b.1995, New Jersey) is a Liberian-American artist currently based in London. His practice explores a material poetics of how the unknown, absent, or chaotic create tensions in relation to order and systems of power. Knowlden utilizes processes of collage and assemblage across painting, drawing, and sculpture - destabilizing objects and materials through their convergences/divergences. Knowlden is a 2026 MFA Fine Art candidate at Goldsmiths, University of London and received his B.Arch in 2020 from Illinois Institute of Technology. His work has been exhibited in multiple art spaces in across Chicago and London, where he was previously and is currently based, including DePaul Art Museum, Elmhurst Art Museum, South Side Community Arts Center, and House Works Presents, among others. 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝟰 6 May - 30 May 2026 Open Thursday - Saturday, 12:00 - 17:00 PV: Wednesday 6 May, 17:00 - 21:00 PECKHAM OASIS, UNIT 4,� DOVEDALE TRADING ESTATE, �LONDON, SE15 4QN

Thermal Test 04 (when the spirit saves the body)

𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝟰 - 𝗦𝗧𝗨𝗗𝗜𝗢 𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗦: 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻 In lead up to the exhibition for our annual open call we will be doing a series of studio visits with artists on the long list. Roland Knowlden (b.1995, New Jersey) is a Liberian-American artist currently based in London. His practice explores a material poetics of how the unknown, absent, or chaotic create tensions in relation to order and systems of power. Knowlden utilizes processes of collage and assemblage across painting, drawing, and sculpture - destabilizing objects and materials through their convergences/divergences. Knowlden is a 2026 MFA Fine Art candidate at Goldsmiths, University of London and received his B.Arch in 2020 from Illinois Institute of Technology. His work has been exhibited in multiple art spaces in across Chicago and London, where he was previously and is currently based, including DePaul Art Museum, Elmhurst Art Museum, South Side Community Arts Center, and House Works Presents, among others. —— 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣 Our annual open call focused on artists connected to South London, supporting a community facing rising rents and shrinking studio space. Since launching in 2023, we’ve exhibited 46 artists across three editions, selected from hundreds of applications each year. The first edition featured 8 artists, followed by 14 in 2024, and 24 in 2025, reflecting the breadth and energy of practices rooted in South London today. This year, we received over 700 applications and will be announcing a shortlist of artists who will be exhibited as part of South Open 4.

Purple Dot, Yellow Dot 2026 carved acrylic and paper collage, on wood panel, artist-made steel framing Commissioned by Sally Afia Nuamah and Nnaemeka Ekwelum for the exhibition, “Orchard & Vine, 1975” celebrating the Neighborhood Commons Cooperative(NCC), a black-owned/operated, working class housing cooperative on the Near North Side of Chicago. Slide 3: 1999 @chicagotribune article written on NCC, entitled “The Black Dot In The White Sea” Slide 4: Accompanied text/essay on the piece, written by Nnaemeka Ekwelum @mekcity : “For many NCC residents, the title of this article felt reductive, harmful, and disrespectful, overlooking the rich, dynamic, and deep legacy of Black families and businesses that shaped the area surrounding their neighborhood long before gentrification. Roland Knowlden’s Purple Dot, Yellow Dot pushes back against this oversimplification of NCC as a “black dot.” By zooming in on the vibrant and expansive spectrum of colors that are combined to create black pigmentation in painting, Purple Dot, Yellow Dot aims to tell an empowered and empowering story about the spaces and places that Black people call home.” The exhibition is on until March 22nd, 2026 within the community at the Near North Library - and is supported by the Twii Foundation, @chicagodcase & @chicagopubliclibrary Thank you again Sally and Nnaemeka for your trust.

bet my life on the peeling of an orange 2025 Acrylic and paper collage on linen Simultaneously, a collaborative work: w/ @house_of_donyi @negation_negation in exit cyphers 2025 Acrylic and paper collage on linen, steel

structure of the mask(to come) 2025 steel, torched acrylic, linen

PERIPHERAL PRESENTS ROLAND KNOWLDEN ⛓️ Roland Knowlden (@rolandknow ) is an artist whose practice spans drawing, painting, sculpture, and spatial intervention. Working through the politics and poetics of representation, his pieces are sites of negation - tracing blackness, the unknown, and the imaginary. Trained in Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, and currently completing an MFA in Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London, Knowlden has begun to consolidate his presence through exhibitions with House Works in London, and DePaul Art Museum and Boundary Gallery in Chicago. For PERIPHERAL, he presents an extraordinary sculptural work in collaboration with ekabo donyi, developed through an ongoing artistic dialogue surrounding “in exit cyphers” — a text, or spell, shaped through their shared exchange. Thursday 4th December | 20:00-2:00 | Venue M.O.T All proceeds will contribute to emergency aid and mental health support for children in Gaza and the West Bank via @warchilduk . 🖤

Ursa Minor: Vice Versa 2025 Charcoal, graphite, vellum, masking tape, glass, steel wire, Swiss clips 45 × 90 cm For more information, see link in bio. @rolandknow @house_work_presents #Negations #RolandKnowlden

For Desire to Become Everything, You Spread Yourself Thin, and Disappear Into Nothing (Vice Versa) — 2025 charcoal, graphite, vellum, masking tape, glass, steel wire, swiss clips 45 × 45 cm @rolandknow @house_work_presents More info available — see link in bio. #Negations #RolandKnowlden #HouseWorkPresents #LondonContemporaryArt

Mask III: Closed Place, Open Word, 2025 Welded Steel, Oak & Topography I, 2024 Acrylic and Paper Collage on Wood Panel, Steel

Cosmic Vengeance, @goldsmithsmfa yr1 interim show, 2025

Firestorm I(Ground): Proposal for Deptford Dockyard, 2025 Loop, Mask, 2025