FREE, BIG, JOY: Clare Bonnet and Carol Peace

In October we have great pleasure in bringing you FREE, BIG, JOY, an exhibition bringing together two of our most sought-after contemporary figurative artists Clare Bonnet and Carol Peace.

Clare Bonnet is best known for her depictions of the female figure, exploring themes around femininity and the multiple roles women fulfil in their lives. Her recent works, from which we borrow the exhibition title is a collection that examines ‘the political landscape of female form.’

She has been working on a series of monotypes, as well as paintings. She says, ‘My painting remains figurative with the same palette as before, although I am exploring a built surface by incorporating cut shapes that are nailed on to the surface with small carpenter's pins - an unashamed nod to the hand of the artist. A crudeness that deliberately turns away from the world of the digital, NFTs and perfection.’ 

‘The monotypes act as sketching process during the development of the paintings and are immediate, loose and incredibly enjoyable to make, and physical - I make the large ones on the floor whilst standing above them. These paintings are lyrical rituals. Primitive dances of balance and rhythm precariously balanced on a ledge of youth.’ 

Carol Peace: ‘Reflected:’ 

Working largely in sculpture, Carol creates figurative works inspired by everyday human interaction.  She uses the figure as a conduit for exploring themes of relationships, friendships or just being solitary. A figure's hands and feet may be proportionally enlarged, giving the impression of a mythical, partly imagined but expressive human being, grounded, connected and strong. Her people are often quietly reading, standing, or gazing skywards, sitting atop rock-like plinths; couples sitting closely together or solitary figures looking benignly on. ‘People often see themselves in the work,’ she says.

Carol's intensely personal work is shown and collected all over the UK, Europe, the Far East, and United States. Her large-scale work is permanently on show at Glyndebourne and at the Dorchester’s country house hotel in Ascot.

Drawing is very much at the heart of all Carol’s practice with her sculpture informed by the intuitive marks she makes with charcoal. It’s all about trying to see, drawing enables that,” she has remarked.

Gallery director Sarah Wiseman says, ‘we brought these two artists together as we felt that each explore the intimacies of human relationships, our bodies and our lives, the tragedies and the triumphs; ultimately, they explore and express the joyfulness of living.’