Materials' associations and
characteristics often comprise the
starting point for Claire Barclay's
work. Many of the materials used
in this Scottish artist's work are
organic and refer to nature, and
would be called fetishistic by
Sigmund Freud. Both her
selection and combinations are refined and
ingenious: hard materials like glass and metal
are contrasted with the softness of cotton yarn
and feathers; the hand-crafted are contrasted
with the industrial. Along with making things
herself, she also uses ready-mades.
Physical intimacy is palpable in Claire Barclay's
art as is ambiguity; her objects contain elements
of cleaning utensils and sports articles as well as
instruments of torture and sexual toys. The
feeling of recognition becomes rapidly mixed
with uncertainty when the observer's fantasies
play the leading role. The function one thinks one
recognises is often proved to be a disturbing - if
often comic - dysfunction. In this way Barclay
thematises the relationship between nature and
culture, between the human body and its
surroundings - a relationship pertinent not least
to sexuality. Her post-minimalist sensibility
shares several points with Eva Hesse's, for
example.
Claire Barclay's objects seldom appear alone;
things are placed in relation to each other in
installations that must be navigated, in a
structure that is more reminiscent of poetry than
of traditional sculpture. Sometimes her
installations resemble landscapes. One of her
latest projects is a public commission in a
residential area in one of Glasgow's southern
suburbs. Together with an architect and the
residents in the area, she has designed a
remarkable but also functional, three-storey
garden shed. The residents who want to cultivate
small plots use the shed, and it contains several
surprises.
Claire Barclay's Moderna Museet Projekt in
Prästgården (the Old Vicarage) consists of a
totally new installation. In addition to using the
former assembly room for her objects, she will
be extending her exhibition to encompass the
trees and landscape around the Vicarage.
Claire Barclay was born in Paisley, Scotland
and lives in Glasgow. In March 2000 there will be
a one-woman show of her work at The
Showroom in London. In Sweden she has
previously participated in the group show, Clean
& Sane, at Edsvik Art and Culture in Sollentuna
in the summer of 1997.
Curator: Maria Lind
Opening Hours:
Tuesday to Thursday 11-00 - 20.00
Friday to Sunday 11.00 - 18.00
Monday closed
Opening-hours - public holidays
Postal Adress:
Moderna Museet
Box 163 82
SE-103 27 Stockholm
SWEDEN