Open afternoons: Wednesdays and Thursdays, 1-4pm
Clare Harford’s work combines solid and shattered sculptural forms. Her work uses the sheer exuberance and dizzying force of colour to lift people and energise them. Because the work pulses with colour, mood and energy dominate.
Clare’s skyward and subterranean sculptures reference Aldous Huxley’s essay Heaven and Hell where he attempted to explore the visionary experiences of mystics. He suggested a strong feature of the visionary’s Other World is ‘transporting colour’, whether it takes the form of a building, an array of jewels or fantastical flowers blooming in a garden. Working from this inspiration, Clare’s work investigates the power of colour, and questions if it can help us to transcend.
Clare will continue her exploration of large scale abstract painting, drawing and sculpting using environmentally aware materials such as coloured paper, card, tape, bamboo canes, string, wire and water based paint. This builds on her residency completed at Everybody Arts last year, Paper Explosion. Clare will be developing her work to further explore its focus on colour, energy and scale.
About the Artist
Clare Harford has known for a while that her practice is changing. Previously, Clare has painted, drawn and sometimes sculpted in clay. Clare’s first degree was in Theatre Design before studying Fine Art at postgraduate level and exhibiting in group shows around South London. At that point, the major theme in her work was nature manipulated and gone awry. Clare’s work was figurative and detailed.
Four years ago, Clare completed a course with local artist Puy Soden and worked in a different way, making abstract wall and floor pieces using paper, tape and card. For Clare this was a big change, and has led to a strong pull towards process-led art.
Clare says: “Now that my practice is changing, I hope that the energy and immediacy I have discovered in process-led art, and also through working with young people, can become part of any new work I produce.”