July 17: Featured Artist: Claire Lambe

JULY 2017: Featured Artist

Multidisciplinary Artist, Writer & Educator:
Claire Lambe
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Photo Credit: John Currie

Claire Lambe was born in Ireland and is a resident of Woodstock, NY. She holds a B.F.A. from Ireland’s National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in Dublin, and an M.F.A. from the City University of New York at Brooklyn College. Claire works in a number of idioms, but is best known for her stunning portraits. Some exhibition highlights: Hudson Valley Artists 2012 at the Samuel Dorsky Museum, SUNY New Paltz, Peace & Justice at the Muroff Kotler Gallery, SUNY Ulster (2015), and a two-person show at Cross Contemporary Art in Saugerties (2016).

Claire has spent the last year living and working in Berlin. In 2015, she was the recipient of a travel grant from Ireland and an invitation to present a solo show there. She is currently part of a two-person show at Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin: (WIKO), Berlin’s Institute for Advanced Study (Exhibition dates: June 8 – July 8). The work in this current exhibition consists of drawings in ink and graphite. Having spent much of the last ten years painting faces, she spent the last ten months drawing the backs of people’s heads while attending regular lectures (colloquia).

“It turns out that the backs of people’s heads are nearly as interesting as the fronts,” she says. The other work she did in Berlin was a series of large works in graphite entitled: “Destination: Unknown” or, in German, Unbekannt, inspired by the diaspora that is occurring right now as people flee Middle Eastern countries – some never to be seen or heard of again. These drawings will be exhibited in Saugerties, NY at Cross Contemporary Art’s auxiliary exhibition space later this year (Date: TBD).

Claire is an instructor at the historic Woodstock School of Art where she teaches contemporary portraiture. She will be teaching workshops in portraiture from photographic reference this September and November.

Claire also writes for the art section of Roll Magazine, an online arts and culture magazine serving the Hudson Valley region of New York.