On Collections: Caroline Achaintre on Berlinde De Bruyckere

December 2020
Episode 10
Caroline Achaintre on Berlinde De Bruyckere
16:58
Roberts Institute of Art

Berlinde de Bruckere, Lost II, 2007.

Courtesy the David and Indrė Roberts Collection. Photo: Mirjam Devriendt

Both having keen interests in the animal world, art history and mythology, Caroline Achaintre quickly gravitated to Berlinde De Bruyckere when asked to choose a work from the David and Indrė Roberts Collection other than her own to discuss. She chose Lost II (2007) as the starting point for this discussion.

The artist Caroline Achaintre stands in front of one of her large tufted wall hangings wearing a electric blue jumper and bright red lipstick.

Caroline Achaintre, 2020.

Courtesy Fondation Thalie. Photo: Jenna Thalie

Caroline Achaintre

Caroline Achaintre is a mixed media artist living and working in London. Her work draws heavily on Primitivism and Expressionism. Born in Toulouse and brought up near Nuremberg, Achaintre obtained a scholarship at the Kunsthochschule in Halle, then came to London to study at the Chelsea College of Arts and then at Goldsmiths, University of London before establishing a studio in Homerton, East London. Much of her earlier work was in textiles, particularly wool, and Primitivist in style, though she has also worked in installation, in ink on paper and ceramics. Much of this work draws on traditions of carnival and tribal masks and the potential to both attract and repulse through the materials.

Podcasts

The Roberts Institute of Art Podcasts are a place to explore, reimagine and exchange ideas through conversations. We invite artists, cultural practitioners and other thinkers to discuss themes connected to our programme.

Berlinde De Brucykere

Berlinde De Bruyckere is a Belgian contemporary artist. De Bruyckere specialises in sculpture in various media including wax, wood, wool, horse skin and hair, though she also works in watercolour or gouache and since the early 1990s many of her major works have featured structures involving blankets. Their use is symbolic both of warmth and shelter, and of the vulnerable circumstances such as wars that make people seek such shelter.

On Collections: Emma Talbot on Huma Bhabha

Emma Talbot wears a black puffer jacket, stood in her studio against a backdrop of draped painted fabrics in bright colours and patterns.

Collection Postcard
Caroline Achaintre, She-Balls, 2011

Roberts Institute of Art