Biography - Clare Woods
Clare Woods RA (b. 1972, Southampton, UK) was elected a Royal Academician in 2022. She has presented solo shows at Night Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; Simon Lee Gallery, London, United Kingdom; Martin Asbæk Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark; Cristea Roberts Gallery, London, United Kingdom; and Buchmann Galerie, Berlin, Germany. In March 2022, Woods mounted a solo exhibition at The Serlachius Museums, Mänttä, Finland. She has had recent institutional solo exhibitions at Pallant House Gallery – June 2026; Stephen Friedman Gallery, NYC – October 2026; and Towner Eastbourne, UK – 2027-28.
Woods completed an MA in Fine Art at Goldsmith’s College, London in 1999, following a BA in Fine Art at Bath College of Art in 1994. Her artistic journey began with an exploration of landscape painting and quickly developed into a fascination with the intersection between memory, myth, and personal experience. Influenced by artists such as Anselm Kiefer and Gerhard Richter, Woods’ work incorporates layered textures and symbolic imagery to convey profound emotional resonance.
Her distinctive style is characterized by large-scale canvases dominated by muted palettes—often incorporating earthy tones and subtle gradations of color—that evoke the atmosphere of desolate landscapes and ancient sites. Recurring motifs include skulls, birds, and geometric patterns, reflecting her preoccupation with mortality, transformation, and the cyclical nature of time. Woods’ meticulous technique involves applying oil paint in multiple layers, building up complex surfaces that capture both visual detail and psychological depth.
A pivotal moment in Woods' career was her commission for contemporary art society/ olympic delivery authority to create two permanent pieces of work, Carpenter’s Curve & Brick Field, for the Olympic Park, London in 2012—a project that demanded considerable logistical planning and artistic innovation. Beyond these monumental commissions, she has undertaken numerous other projects showcasing her versatility as an artist, collaborating with architects and designers on innovative installations and exploring printmaking techniques to expand her artistic vocabulary.
Woods’ paintings are held in many major national and international collections including the Arts Council Collection, London; British Council Collection, London; Government Art Collection, London; Southampton City Art Gallery; National Museum Wales Collection; Glynn Vivian Collection, Wales; Arken Museum of Modern Art, Denmark; British Airways Collection, London; and Albright-Knox Museum, Buffalo, USA. Her work has been recognized for its intellectual rigor and emotional sensitivity—a testament to her unwavering commitment to artistic exploration and her ability to communicate complex ideas through evocative visual language.
Recent exhibitions include “Lady Midnight” at Pallant House Gallery (2016), where she presented a series of paintings inspired by folklore and mythology; “The Great Unknown” at CCA Museum, Mallorca (2017); and “Silent Spring” at Buchmann Galerie, Berlin (2018). Her ongoing artistic endeavors continue to push boundaries and engage audiences with profound reflections on human existence and the relationship between art and memory.
