Clare Winnan is an artist, maker and upholsterer based in Wiltshire. She revives objects through reusing, recycling and revamping. She uses objects to create pieces that are nostalgic and sometimes kitsch by using found objects often linked to childhood that evoke memories.
Clare Winnan is an artist, maker and upholsterer based in Wiltshire. She revives objects through reusing, recycling and revamping. She uses objects to create pieces that are nostalgic and sometimes kitsch by using found objects often linked to childhood that evoke memories.
As a child, Clare created dioramas using objects that she found in her home and garden, such as petals, pebbles and small dead animals and this idea and desire to create sculptures in this way have stuck with her ever since. Escpecially her love of the macabre.
Clare's pieces often have a twist on them, either in the use of opposing materials or unlikely media to realise her ideas. Taxidermied animals and the preservation of insects features heavily in her work to create a juxtaposition within her sculptures, creating a sense of death coming to life.
Born in Kent, Clare moved to Bath in 2004 to study a degree in Fine Art Sculpture at Bath Spa University. She moved after graduating university to Cornwall, Brighton and then Corsham but was drawn back to the South East where she now lives and works in Canterbury.
Associations
The Pound Art Gallery, Corsham, Wiltshire. (Studio artist)
44AD Art Gallery and Studios, Bath. (Associate artist)
Qualifications and training
2018 - Professional qualification in upholstery, The Traditional School of Upholstery, Holt
2008 - PGCE Art and Design, Brighton University, Brighton
2007 - BA (Hons) Fine Art, Bath Spa University, Bath
Selected exhibitions
2020 - Selected from open exhibition at Oink Gallery, Swindon
2020 - 'Bath Spa Alumni exhibition' selected artist at Sion Hill Gallery, Bath
2020 - Invited artist at Lane House Arts Gallery, Biddestone, Wiltshire
2019 - 'Revive' exhibition at Pound Arts Centre
2019 - 'Fantastic and Strange' (artist and curator) group show as part of Fringe Arts Bath
2019 - Selected artist for Pound Arts Open, Pound Art Gallery, Corsham
2018 - 'Hopeful Monsters' Roper Gallery at Bath Artists Studio, Bath (as part of a selected 6 week residency)
2018 - Exhibition and silent auction at Royal United Hospital, Bath
2017 - 'Obsessive Compulsive Practice' (artist and curator) group show as part of Fringe Arts Bath, Bath
2017 - The Bath Open, group show at 44AD gallery, Bath
2017 - 'Foundlings' group show responding to other artists work, Bath.
2016 - Pound Art Open, Pound Art Centre, Corsham, Wiltshire.
2015 - Papergirl Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
2015 - Hide and Seek, Fringe Arts Bath, Bath.
2015 - Pretty In Pink, Bath Artist Studios, Bath.
2015 - Group touring show, Trowbridge Arts Centre, Trowbridge, Wiltshire
2014 - Box Wonders, No Format Gallery, Greenwich, London.
2014 - Deck the walls, 44AD Gallery, Bath.
2014 - Pound Art Open, Pound Art Centre, Corsham, Wiltshire.
2014 - 'Nostalgia Project', Bristol Biennial, Edwardian Cloakrooms, Bristol
2014 - 'Eighth wonder', 44ad Gallery, Bath
2014 - 'Out of the box', Fringe Arts Bath, Stall Street, Bath
2014 - Textile! , ArtStation, Huddersfield
2013 - Deck The Walls, 44AD, Bath
2013 - The Pound Arts Open, The Pound, Corsham, Wiltshire
2013 - Larkhall Open Studios Exhibition, New Oriel Hall, Larkhall, Bath, Bath
2013 - Uncovered, Fringe Arts Bath (Stall Street), Bath
2012 - Larkhall Open Studios, New Oriel Hall, Larkhall, Bath
2012 - Papergirl Bristol, The Looking Glass Art Space, Bristol
2012 - Recycle A Book, Bath Central Library, Bath
2011 - Fringe Arts Bath, The Officers Club, Stall Street, Bath
2010 - Here Today, Gone Tomorrow, Bath Fringe Festival, Milsom Place, Bath
2009 - Canterbury Festival Art Fair, University College for the Creative Arts, Canterbury
2008 - Canterbury Art Fair, The University for the Creative Arts, Canterbury
2007 - Canterbury Festival Art Fair, University College for the Creative Arts, Canterbury
2007 - Bath Spa Degree Show, Bath Spa University
2007 - 'Vitamin Bath' Group Exhibition, Trewman Brewery, London
2007 - 'Death Is The Most Exciting Part Of Living', Somerset Place, Bath
2006 - 'Ode to Eva', Dis-used shop, Cleveland Terrace, Bath
2005 - Bath Fringe Festival, Various locations, Bath