Collect Week: Candida Stevens - 5 Minutes with a Friend
Candida Stevens is a curator and gallerist with a background in art history, business psychology, and art finance. After two decades immersed in business, she transitioned to independent curation, founding Candida Stevens Gallery in 2013.
Since then, the gallery has gained a strong reputation in the UK for its ambitious curatorial themes and its ability to attract leading contemporary British artists. With a keen curatorial vision, the gallery produces thought-provoking exhibitions that explore significant themes through new and relevant work, with exhibitions presented in both London and Chichester, including as an exhibiting member of Cromwell Place.
Now, for Collect Art Fair 2025, the Candida Stevens gallery presents the work of four artists working across textiles and ceramics in the West Wing of Somerset House.
We spoke with Candida to explore her perspective on the significance of textiles:
Candida, what is your first memory of textiles?
I wasn’t aware of textiles as a collectable art form until we started working with Alice Kettle. It is entirely because of her that this has become a focus for the gallery. I have always been drawn to the colour and pattern of textiles, as will be clear from our gallery artists and whenever I travel I am seduced by the cultural textiles of the place.
Is there a place that most inspires you to learn about or discover textiles?
Every country I visit! We recently went to an amazing textile museum in Jakarta, Java, Indonesia. I’ve seen its equivalent in Europe. Recommend!
YiMiao Shih, The Bather, 2024
What has inspired you or what are you thinking about for your gallery space at Collect next year?
We are showing works by three artists whose work expresses the experiences of displacement. YiMiao Shih who came to the UK from Taiwan, Manya was born in South Africa. She came to London in the 1960's with her family who were refugees from the Apartheid regime and Alice Kettle whose work has been concerned with refuge for many years.
Manya Goldman, Arcadia, 2019
What textile makers or artists do you think are exciting/ ones to watch this year?
We introduce two new artists to the fair, so clearly them. Otherwise I look forward to see what other galleries have discovered.
Marice Cumber, The Big Bucket of Feeling Fabulous (At Last), 2024
If you could own one artist's work for your personal collection, what would it be?
Alice Kettle! She is an incredible person, generous to the core and her large pieces are utterly astonishing. She is also such an important player in the dedicated and determined struggle of bringing textiles to the core of contemporary art, which I believe has now been achieved. A large piece by her in my home would be a dream.
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Further Information:
Candida Stevens Gallery:
Alice Kettle:
YiMiao Shih:
Manya Goldman:
Marice Cumber:
Collect Art Fair Candida Stevens Gallery
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Image Credits:
Lead Image: Alice Kettle, Kingmakers, 2025
All images courtesy of Candida Stevens Gallery