Claire Barrow Experiments Different Means for Her Solo Exhibition At M.Goldstein Gallery in Hackney

‘The Bed, The Bath and The Beyond’ is the first solo art show by artist and fashion designer Claire Barrow, held at M.Goldstein Gallery Hackney Road, London from April 17th-April 24th 2016.

Stockton-on-Tees-born Barrow is best known for her shows at London Fashion Week, with collections featuring drawings and paintings printed upon loose, flowing garments with an eclectic style, as well as her hand-painted leather jackets (of which Rihanna owns not one, but three, commissioned pairs.) Her practice is based around continually muddling the line between fashion design and artmaking. In an ode to irony, she chose to name her first solo exhibition after the American superchain, Bed, Bath, & Beyond. She condemns consumerism as a means to attain self-betterment – yet the title bears some spiritual symbolism, referring to the daily rituals of cleaning, pruning, and prepping ourselves to face the world, which have become almost automated in the pace of everyday life.

Her illustrations have a youthful awkwardness if not naive, yet they continue to draw on historical, political, and cultural subject matters, as well as referencing her own experiences. This makes her work both confrontational and deeply personal.

For the exhibition, she draws and paints on a range of everyday household items, in particular focusing on rooms with limited interaction. Her mediums include toilet paper, shower curtains and neon lighting. The work juxtaposes contemporary rituals like taking a cleansing shower with goulish figures of lore, such as vampires and devil figurines, all conveyed in Barrow’s signature neo-primitive style.

M.Goldstein 67 Hackney Road, London, E2 8ET
April 17th-April 24th 2016; Opening hours 12-6pm (closed Monday)
www.clairebarrow.com
www.mgoldstein.co.uk

Text by Tamara Akcay