Clive Barker British, b. 1940
Two Lobsters, 2006
Polished bronze
9.2 x 45.7 x 40.7 cm
Edition of 3
Born in 1940, Clive Barker attained sculptural maturity in 1966. His work has long been exhibited at high-profile galleries in London and Europe and has been included in numerous surveys...
Born in 1940, Clive Barker attained sculptural maturity in 1966. His work has long been exhibited at high-profile galleries in London and Europe and has been included in numerous surveys and international exhibitions of Pop Art. By replicating functional, mass-produced objects in gleaming metals, Barker has redefined Marcel Duchamp's concept of the 'ready-made'. His recreations of the ordinary awaken a sense of amazement at the beauty of the familiar, reinventing the surrounding world, giving his art a life-enhancing quality.
Barker readdresses food, one of his favourite themes, by presenting plates with seductive crustaceans. With ‘Two Lobsters’, the artist not only gives continuity to his thread of work by shifting the status of his subjects from consumable items to articles embraced by the aura of fine art. He also captures the subject in a certain moment to give the viewer the opportunity to admire the beauty of an otherwise ephemeral and perishable dish.
The work of Clive Barker is in museum collections worldwide including: National Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; British Museum, London; Tate, London; National Portrait Gallery, London; Museum für moderne Kunst, Frankfurt; Städtische Kunsthalle Mannheim; Museu Coleção Berardo, Lisbon; The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Barker readdresses food, one of his favourite themes, by presenting plates with seductive crustaceans. With ‘Two Lobsters’, the artist not only gives continuity to his thread of work by shifting the status of his subjects from consumable items to articles embraced by the aura of fine art. He also captures the subject in a certain moment to give the viewer the opportunity to admire the beauty of an otherwise ephemeral and perishable dish.
The work of Clive Barker is in museum collections worldwide including: National Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; British Museum, London; Tate, London; National Portrait Gallery, London; Museum für moderne Kunst, Frankfurt; Städtische Kunsthalle Mannheim; Museu Coleção Berardo, Lisbon; The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Provenance
Acquired directly from the Artist.
Exhibitions
2006, Clive Barker: Recent Works, Whitford Fine Art, London.
Literature
Clive Barker: Recent Works, exhibition catalogue with introduction by An Jo FERMON, Whitford Fine Art, London, 2006, cat. no.20, ill.