Clare Goodwin was born in Birmingham, England in 1973
She obtained her MA in painting at the Royal College of Art in London in 1998. Since the early 2000s, Goodwin has lived and worked in Zurich, Switzerland.
Renowned for her exploration of ‘Constructive Nostalgia,’ Goodwin directs her artistic expression towards nonfigurative, minimal abstract paintings. Her creative endeavours extend beyond canvases to include ceramics, assemblages, and spatial environments.
Residing in Switzerland, Clare’s work stands as a distinct expression of abstraction, breaking away from the confines of the ‘Concrete Art’ movement predominant in Zurich. What sets Goodwin apart is the narrative and subjective essence woven into her art, diverging from the mathematical principles often associated with the ‘Concrete Art’ masters.
Embracing a fusion of factual and fictional narratives, she engages with geometric sensibilities and hard-edge principles across all her mediums. Clare’s distinctive ‘pallet nostalgia’ employs a colour scheme intricately tied to earlier decades. At the crossroads of artistry and socially resonant storytelling, Clare bridges the realms of high-art principles and the narratives of everyday life. Her creations delve into personal and collective memories, social politics, histories, and gender stereotypes. Clare Goodwin’s work is a captivating exploration of the intersections between artistic expression and the rich tapestry of human experience.
Clare Goodwin’s art has been showcased in numerous solo and group exhibitions at venues in Switzerland and Europe. Notable institutional exhibitions include the Kunsthaus Aarau, the Centre PasquArt, Biel, the Museum Haus Constructive Zurich, SKK Soest, Germany, Kunst Museum Olten, and the Southwark Park Galleries in London. She has exhibited with Gallery Lullin+Ferrari Zurich and Galerie Lange+Pult Auvernier and participated in the recent 4th Industrial Art Biennale in Istria, Croatia.
Recipient of a British Arts Council Fellowship Award in 2000, she moved to Switzerland, where she has been highly acknowledged by awards from the Swiss Federal Office of Culture in 2009 and 2010, the City and Canton of Zurich, the Swiss Arts Council in 2020, and various private foundations.
Public collections featuring her work include the Haus Constructive, Kunsthaus Aarau, Swiss Federal collection, Canton and City of Zurich, UBS, Credit Suisse, National Bank, Zurich Cantonal Bank, Helvetia Insurance, and various European private collections and Public Art commissions.