Coco Crampton

Coco Crampton (b. 1983 in London) is a sculptor that combines classic sculptural materials – marble, ceramics, copper, wood and metal – in unusual ways. Her work also occupies space in all its dimensions; ceilings, floors and smaller surfaces. At Belmacz, an exquisite gallery space on Davies Street, Coco Crampton creates an environment that is simultaneously domestic and impressive, playful and stern, certainly unusual and extremely new. You might have noticed her work at the RA Summer Exhibition this year, or in the past at the project space Chandeliers Projects. As the artist only graduated from the Royal Academy in 2014 she has quickly developed a visual language that worth keeping an eye on.

If you are familiar with the work of Italian designer and architect Ettore Sottsass you will feel comfortable in Crampton’s world, with unusual geometric configurations and choice of vibrant colours. The sculpture B_Type: Bower, 2016, pictured here, is a magnificent example of Crampton’s work and her ability in creating other realms. A bower is “a pleasant shady place under trees or climbing plants in a garden or a wood”, a word that evokes the English traditions of the garden and the outdoor, but also evokes time suspended in contemplation. Yet the hard edges and strong colours of the piece have little of the romanticism of a sheltered refuge but dynamism, vigour and presence. Could B_Type: Bower be a bird crystallised in a moment of rest? Playing with words that evoke different situations, Crampton’s show becomes a realm itself with large knitted structures suspended from the ceiling, hanging above us, creating a shelter. Ahead of chaotic Frieze week, do take time to find your “bower” at Belmacz under Coco Crampton’s sculptures.

Recent exhibitions include RA Summer Exhibition 2016, Royal Academy of Arts, London; All Over (five-person show), Studio_Leigh, London, Gradation (recent graduates of the Royal Academy Schools), Art First, London; Gardeners & Astronomers (a two-person show with Nicole Vinokur), Caustic Coastal, Manchester (2016); Kingly Things (a two-person show with Agata Madejska curated by Gareth Bell-Jones), Chandelier Projects, London (2015); Handles on Romance & Other Girls also Common Tongue, a solo exhibition at The Minories in Colchester (2015); Cassius Clay (group exhibition curated by Marcelle Joseph Projects, London) and Protected Space (two-person exhibition with Jonathan Baldock), Belmacz Gallery, London (2014). Crampton lives and works in London.