Esmé Clutterbuck

Esmé Clutterbuck did a Degree in Fine Art, then a Painting post-grad at the RA Schools and Print at Central St/Martins. She has completed residencies and worked collaboratively in London, Bristol and Latvia. Besides solo exhibitions, Esmé has shown in numerous recent Open and mixed exhibitions including, RA Summer Exhibition, the RWA Open, RWA Photo Open, Irving Contemporary, Studio KIND, FRANK Whitstable and Safehouse 2, Peckham.

Esmé’s long fascination with hair led to drawings that explore the visual and cultural qualities of the subject. Her recent drawings, using earth pigments, sourced in North Devon and Bristol, show an interest in the primitive, in the joy of the purely optical, in pattern and the dance of black against white. They suggest fabric designs or the scientific: cell formations, planets, solar systems, the cycles of life and the female body, generation and growth. Recent drawings have extended onto paper dress patterns in 2 and 3 dimensions.

“I like to be playful; I draw to see what comes up, to surprise myself.”