At the Meakin & Parsons owned Art Gallery adjacent to the R&C,
from 5 August – 2 September 2022
Ashley Cluer
Don’t Like What You See? Well, Neither Do We.
Gallery hours for August | Wednesday – Saturday 11-3pm | Other times by appointment
Fresh out of art school, Ashley Cluer graduated this year from The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art at the University of Oxford, gaining a BA Hons in Fine Art. The artist’s interest in sculpture began whilst growing up in North London where she was surrounded by industrial materials whose banality sparked her imagination to play.
Days were spent repainting her parents’ patio which doubled up as her workshop for making sculptures resulted in being accepted into one of the UK’s most prestigious art schools where she has honed her skills with determination through the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, making the most of empty studio spaces to make ambitious larger works.
Cluer’s practice has continued to be centred on materiality, as the texture, form and appearance of her sculptures become an integral resource that enables the viewer to connect with the piece using all senses. The life and stories imbued within her sculptures emphasise the beauty the artist finds in things that might otherwise be ignored.
In particular, Cluer’s large-scale works made in aluminium, steel, papier maché, and acrylic are created through a process of making and manipulating materials to explore colour and form and express the artist’s creative impulses. Notably, the artist also makes the bases that support some of these sculptures, formed by repurposing, sawing, and sanding previous works she no longer wishes to exist.
The title of the exhibition ‘Don’t Like What You See? Well, Neither Do We’ is taken from the title piece in the show, hinting at the artist’s wry sense of humour embodied within this bold and exciting new work, and aims to pique the curiosity of passersby with an invitation to stop for a moment, and take a closer look.
Contact Ben for more details
16 North Parade Avenue, Oxford. OX2 6LX
