About
I work predominately with multi-textured installations that combine painting, drawing, embroidery and ceramics. I draw on my central European heritage – its arts and crafts, folklore, rituals, mysticism, pagan and Christian traditions, always in relation to the handmade, the interior or sacred space. It is its mise-en-scene, its still-lives and patterns that interest me most, choreographing constellations and modes of display – the individual piece carefully embedded within the syntax of the wider ensemble.
Claudia Sarnthein is a German/Austrian artist, living in London and Berlin. She studied Art History at the Universität Wien in Vienna and Design at the Hochschule HAW/College of Art & Design in Hamburg. She worked as a costume/textile designer in Hamburg and Paris for several years, before graduating in Fine Art from the Royal College of Art, London. She is a Senior Tutor at the Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford.
News
2024
- Soho House Art Collection, UK – acquisition
2023
- Digital Knowledge Exchange Workshop on German Drawings, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
With Gareth Harris, Karen Pontoppidan, Nick Runeckles, Matthias Ubl, Matthew Winterbottom
Curated by Dr. Mailena Mallach (Ashmolean-Getty Paper Project Curator) and An Van Camp (Curator of Northern European Art)
2021
- The Side Chapel (II + III) – solo show
Private Studio Viewing, Matchmakers Wharf/Acme Studios, London
2019
- Pale Shelter (touring exhibition), incl. Niina Lehtonen Braun, Katrin Hoffert, Kaisu Koivisto, Manfred Michl, Oliver Möst, Orlando, Siliva von Pock, Sarah Thibault
- Curated by Susanne Ring, Frappant e.V. Galerie, Hamburg
2018
- Von Alters Her – publication launch
First Thursday Events/Whitechapel Gallery Bookshop, London
- Pale Shelter, incl. Katrin Hoffert, Manfred Michl, Oliver Möst, Orlando, Silvia von Pock, Sarah Thibault
- Curated by Susanne Ring, Galerie Axel Obiger, Berlin
- Solo Award 2018, London – shortlisted
- Selected by Sarah Martin (Head of Exhibitions, Turner Contemporary), Alistair Hicks (Writer/Curator, former Senior Curator at Deutsche Bank), Sarah Monk (Director, London Art Fair), Chiara Williams (Director, Chiara Williams Contemporary Art)
2017
- Von Alters her / From the Old – solo show
- International Studio Programme, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin
- In conversation with writer/editor Federica Bueti
- The Horizontal Within, the Horizontal Without
- incl. Ian Bourn, Louise Bristow, Maria Chevska, Richard Grayson, Derek Hampson, Liane Lang, Stephen Lee, Peter Suchin
- Curated by Stephen Lee and Peter Suchin, Lubomirov/Angus-Hughes Gallery, London
2016
- Open Studios, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, International Studio Programme, Berlin
- incl. Jesse Amado (USA), Stijn Ank (Belgium), Orawan Arunrak (Thailand), Céline Burnand (Switzerland), Åsa Cederqvist (Sweden), Elizabeth Hoak-Doering (Cyprus), Carl Johan Högberg (Netherlands), Han Seok Hyun (Korea), Song Sung Jin (Korea), Sveinn Fannar Jóhannsson (Norway), Tatiana Macedo (Portugal), Shubigi Rao (Singapore), Anahita Razmi (Iran), Kama Sokolnicka (Poland), Akiko Utsumi (Japan), Lyndal Walker (Australia), Chih-Chien Wang (Canada-Québec), Yang Che-Yi (Taiwan)
2015
- Episode – solo show
- Blyth Gallery, Imperial College, London
- In conversation with writer/performer Andra Simons
- White Pages – publication launch
2014
- Missing Narrative, incl. Rose Bell, Mel Cole, Gin Dunscombe, Cadi Froehlich, Clare Harford, Alice Kelway-Bamber, Monika Kita, Sasha Morris, Sue Stephens, Kim Thornton, Billy Ward, Edgar Walker
- Symposium Speakers: Ann Course, Karl England, Rebecca Fortnum, Claudia Sarnthein, Gregory Williams
- Brixton East/Vacuous Gallery, London
2013
- Heather/Busy Sleep, incl. Nicky Carvell, James Clarkson, Noz Crou, Donna Huanca, Jack Lavender, Henrik Olai Kaarstein, Marianne Spurr
- Online project 2012–2013, www.busysleep.com, Welcome Screen, London
- Curated by Michael Pybus and Hannah Lees
2012
- Mother Tongue – solo show
- The Ruskin School of Art/Mezzanine, University of Oxford
2011
- Salon Art Prize 2011, London – shortlisted
- Selected by Patricia Bickers (Editor, Art Monthly), Pippa Hale (Director, Project Space Leeds), Robert Leckie (Curator, Gasworks)
- The London Group Open 2011 – shortlisted
- Selected by Jenni Lomax (Director, Camden Art Centre), William Feaver (Painter, critic, writer)
- Sunday Best – solo show
- Past Vyner Street, London
- Curated by Lara Garcia and Sandra Sykorova
- In conversation with curator/writer Gareth Evans
2010
- The London Art Book Fair, represented by Domobaal, Whitechapel Gallery, London
- With/Drawn: Contemporary International Drawing Exhibition
- The Drawing Room HU/Raday Kepeshaz Galeria, Budapest
- Das vertraute Unvertraute/The Familiar Unfamiliar,
- Über die inherente Poesie des Materials, Aktuelle Positionen Bildender Kunst
- Curated by Ulrike Buck and Serge de Waha
- Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart
- Paper Jam #1, incl. Jim Allchin, Stephen Bochonek, Luke Dowd, Stephanie Farmer, Joseph Fuller, Andrew Gillespie, Oona Grimes, Natasha Laforce, Helen Marten, Emile Ouroumov, Elisabeth Porter, Jon Siah, Joby Williamson
- Curated by Emile Ouroumov and Charlotte Seidel, A3 Collectif, Paris
2009
- Schafskopf – solo show
- Box, Produzentengalerie, Berlin
- Time is a Sausage, incl. Ailbhe Ni Bhriain, Phyllida Barlow, Gordon Cheung, Prunella Clough, Haris Epaminonda, Eric Gill, Christopher Hanlon, Ron Haseldon, Sharon Kivland, Ansel Krut, Jeffrey T Y Lee, Kim Noble, Lucy Pawlak, Felicity Powell, Sian Pile, Miho Sato, Walter Swennen, Charlie Tweed, Mhairi Vari
- Curated by Domobaal, London
- Artist’s Book Vitrine, Tate Modern Bookshop, London – solo presentation
2007
- An Jacob – solo show
- Box, Produzentengalerie, Berlin
- Lache Nicht/Weine Nicht/Zeige Deine Zähne Nicht – publication launch
- 1 Jahr Box, with Ivo Bakschis, Harriet Gross, Gabriele Worgitzki
- Curated by Dr. Silke Feldhoff, Box, Berlin
- Artist’s Book Vitrine, Tate Modern Bookshop, London – solo presentation
2006
- The Jerwood Drawing Prize 2005 (touring exhibition) Rennie Mackintosh Gallery, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow
- 3. Berliner Kunstsalon
- Curated by Jana Hyner, Box, Berlin
- Saudade, incl. Amanda Couch, Doug Fishbone, Aisling Hedgecock, Graham Hudson, Thomas Hylander, Ryan Mosley, Clare Parry, Clara S. Rueprich, David Spero, Raymond Taudin Chabot, Sally Underwood
- Curated by Sarah Dwyer/Laura Green, HighburyStudios, London
2005
- The Jerwood Drawing Prize 2005, London – shortlisted
- Selected by Prof. Stephen Farthing, Prof. Martin Kemp, Dr. Sarah Simblet
- 40 Artists–40 Drawings, The Drawing Gallery, London
- Slow Forming, incl. Yukako Shibata, Amy Woolley
- Curated by Mindy Lee, Blyth Gallery, Imperial College, London
- Preview Berlin, represented by Domobaal, Berlin
- 13+, incl. Ailbhe Ni Bhriain, Daniel Gustav Cramer, Tom Dale, Marcel Dinahet, Chris Gibson, Harris Epaminonda, Ron Haseldon, Giles Perry, Felicity Powell, Jeffrey TY Lee
- Curated by Domobaal, London
2004
- The Show 2004, Royal College of Art, London
Collections
- Soho House Art Collection, UK
- Victoria & Albert Museum Collection, London
- Royal College of Art Collection, London
- Private collections in the UK and Europe
Reviews/Publications
- Von Alters her, with texts by Christoph Tannert, Federica Bueti and Claudia Sarnthein, published by Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, 2018 (cat.)
- Von Alters her, exhibition text by Dr. Mark Gisbourne, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin 2017
- Flechtwerk/Connective Tissue, text by Alexandra Landré, BE23 Magazine, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, 2016
- Geometry of Grief, On Claudia Sarnthein's Episode, text by Dr. Birgit Griesecke, Blyth Gallery, Imperial College, London, 2015
- Missing Narrative, This is Art/Into-the Fold, London, 2014 (cat)
- ARM – A Ruskin Magazine, issue 5, The Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford, 2014
- Jour Mal Jour Nal, Fans of Fans (of Fans), issue 2, www.jourmaljournal.co.uk, curated by Susan Finlay, London, 2013
- Elena Michael, online magazine, www.elenamichael.com, issue 1, incl. David Armstrong-Six, David Horvitz, Andrew Norman Wilson, edited by Adriana Blidaru and James Michael Shaeffer JR, Berlin, 2013
- Fashioning the City: Exploring Fashion Cultures, Structures and Systems, Nathaniel Dafydd Beard, Research-PhD, Royal College of Art, London, 2012
- ARM – A Ruskin Magazine, issue 2, The Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford, 2012
- In Quest of the Devil, text by Dr. Wiebke Leister, Past Vyner Street, London, 2011
- On Schafskopf, text by Radhika Khimji, Box Berlin, 2008
- Zu Claudia Sarnthein's An Jacob, text by Dr. Birgit Griesecke, Box Berlin, 2007
- Slow Forming, text by Dr. Kamini Vellodi, Blyth Gallery, London, 2005
- The Jerwood Drawing Prize 2005, Wimbledon School of Art, London, 2005 (cat.)
- On Fragments, review by Gareth Evans, Time Out, London, 2005
- The Show 2004, Royal College of Art, London, 2004 (cat.)
Teaching/Talks
- since 2005
- Senior Ruskin Tutor at the Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford
- since 2000
- Visiting Lecturer/Talks
- Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
- Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin
- Lubomirov/Angus-Hughes Gallery, London
- Tate Modern/Tate Crit Club, London
- PastVynerStreet, London
- Royal College of Art, London
- London College of Communication, London
- Kingston Univ./Faculty of Art, Design & Music, Kingston
- Bristol School of Art, Media and Design, Bristol
- Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford
- Blyth Gallery, Imperial College, London
- Slade School of Fine Art, London
- Whitechapel Gallery/Space Studios, London
- AMD, Academy of Fashion and Design, Hamburg
Design Work
- 1994–2000
- Costume/textile designer for international clients incl
- Robert Wilson/Frida Parmeggiani, Opera Bastille, Paris
- Frida Parmeggiani, Theater am Turm, Frankfurt
- Robert Wilson/Frida Parmeggiani, Thalia Theater, Hamburg
- Daniel Karasek/Claudia Spielmann, Thalia Theater, Hamburg
- Haute-Couture, Cacharel, Paris
- Haute-Couture, Lanvin, Paris
Education
- 2002–2004
- MA Fine Art, Royal College of Art, London
- 1989–1993
- BA/MA Design, Hochschule HAW/Design, College of Art & Design, Hamburg
- 1988–1989
- Art History, Institut für Kunstgeschichte/Universität Wien, Vienna