Claire Barclay's sculptural installations balance elements of function and dysfunction, and chaos and order. She contrasts the organic with the synthetic, the hard with the soft, openness with confinement, to create physical and psychological tensions. Barclay's carefully constructed environments often respond directly to the specifics of the space. She uses hand-crafted objects, those manufactured to her own specifications and improvisatory elements constructed in situ. These hybrid objects allude to anthropomorphic or natural forms, yet remain elusive through their careful displacement. Exploiting the physical properties of materials such as leather, canvas, metal, rubber or fur, Barclay encourages us to engage with her work on a instinctual level. An object's form and context trigger a range of associations, veering from the domestic and utilitarian to the fetishistic. The process of making lies at the core of Barclay's practice. By adopting methods associated with traditional crafts, such as weaving, wood turning and ceramics, she communicates experience through form. She responds intuitively to materials and embraces elements of risk and experimentation. The finished work is often poised between making and unmaking; fraying wicker and dangling threads suggest that process is more important than product.

Camden Arts Centre
times: 02 May - 29 Jun 2020 Wed 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM; Tue, Thu - Sun, Early May Bank Holiday, Spring Bank Holiday, Summer Bank Holiday 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM