“Strangefellows”
Claire Lambe and Lisa Young
13 Sept → 12 Oct 2013
Strangefellows is a collaboration between Claire Lambe and Lisa Young.
The collaboration is a response and consequence of a recent trip to Europe. This was ostensibly an art trawl through galleries both contemporary and traditional, a privileged chance to experience something generally seen only through books, magazines and websites. Their interest encompassed not only art but also explored a shared interest in the decorative arts, architecture and interior display.
A particular highlight was the Paris Musee des Arts Decoratifs. At the museum the artists saw the whole room reinstallation of the study designed by architect Pierre Chareau. Designed by Pierre for his own use, this sensuous and brooding space became a defining moment. Both artists saw the possibilities of incorporating multiple elements – sculpture, drawing, painting into a deliberated master/host structure or room. This was a return for both artists to previous work involving rooms, interiors and furniture, and also a chance to incorporate recent art concerns.
Claire Lambe’s distinctly referential art practice explores the material and transformative possibilities of sculpture, using it to create new forms of representation. Her work draws our attention to the complexity of attachment, preferring a work to hold an attitude that unsettles conventional notions of gender and class.
Lisa Young's practice draws visual and material vocabulary from our civic and domestic built environment to disrupt and make visible the intersections between architecture, interior design, history and public display. Young works in a broad range of media and contexts, from multifaceted metal sculptures and soft textiles, to large scale public art.