Clare Woods Southampton, UK, b. 1972

  • Photo by Joshua Monaghan

  • Clare Woods’ background in sculpture continues to shape her distinctive approach to painting.

     

    b. 1972, Southampton, UK
    Lives and works in Hereford, UK

     

     

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    Her work often blurs the line between figuration and abstraction, using bold, gestural brushstrokes to explore how form can exist within a flat pictorial space. Whether depicting objects, landscapes, or the human figure, her paintings are deeply rooted in physicality.


    Much of Woods’ practice revolves around an exploration of physical form. Her understanding of sculptural language and ongoing interest in how forms occupy space underpin her approach to painting. Translated into two dimensions, this perspective lends her work a sense of weight and movement. As her visual language shifts between representation and abstraction, precision and accident, Woods also explores how her paintings can take on sculptural qualities—especially at large scale—so that the surface can never be perceived all at once.

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    Working primarily on gesso-primed aluminum panels, Woods begins with simplified outlines, then builds the composition through layers of oil paint and resin. Her process—marked by a sculptural sensitivity to touch and movement—relies on manipulating pigment through varying brush pressure, creating dynamic surfaces that retain a vivid tactile presence.

     

    Clare Woods had her first major institutional exhibition at The Hepworth Wakefield, UK, in 2011. Her works have been exhibited internationally and held in numerous public collections, including major institutions in the UK, Denmark, and the United States. Recent solo exhibitions include CCA Andratx in Mallorca, Serlachius Museum Gösta in Mänttä, Warwick Arts Centre, and Dundee Contemporary Arts, among others.

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