Shelagh Cluett

Flux 1, 1979. An early example of Shelagh Cluett's sculpture.

Shelagh Cluett (17 December 1947 – 25 July 2007) was an artist and fine art lecturer working in London, England, from the late 1960s until 2007. Cluett became a recognised figure on the London art scene in the early 1980s with exhibitions of her large metal sculptures appearing internationally. in 1979, and then at Nicola Jacobs Gallery and ACME Gallery in 1980 Cluett became established on the British art scene, subsequently showing extensively in the UK and abroad. During this period she also forged strong links in the world of art education, acting as visiting lecturer and examiner to many different art schools up and down the country. She set up the postgraduate course in sculpture at Chelsea College of Art in 1980.

The 1980s and '90s Burmese Nights, 1984. An example of Shelagh Cluett's 1980s work. Burmese Nights appeared in Vogue. In the mid 1980s Cluett's work began to move away from linear forms to explore the influences of her travels in the Far East; they provided her with a new wealth of imagery and an intensified palette, lending greater freedom to her sculpture. Colours gathered greater importance; applied to more expansive hammered metal surfaces, they cause the work to shine and glisten. Though travel research was an integral part of Cluett's working process, it had to be fitted around her commitments at Chelsea College of Art and Design, where she had become a Principal Lecturer and head of the MA Sculpture course.

She exhibited her works in Briain and internationally, in France, South Korea, India and the United States. She also realised that in slowing down or speeding up a recorded image, the corresponding sound accompaniment was effected in the same way, inadvertently providing a soundtrack to her work.

Pursuing her interest in pixellation, and the breakdown of an image, Cluett's attentions turned to early mosaics – a type of primitive pixellation. On various trips to ancient sites of Roman inhabitation (such as Pompeii and Ostia Antica), Cluett documented a great number of mosaics and their surrounding context. This material was used to make two new films Ostia I and II (2006–07) as well as twisted and extruded digital images of mosaics, intended for projection on to unusual surfaces in an attempt at "cross fertilisation" of media. A project unfortunately left unfinished upon her death.

Cluett died in London on 25 July 2007 after suffering an aggressive cancer.

The Shelagh Cluett Trust The Shelagh Cluett Trust has been set up in her name, and there is an extensive archive of her work which documents her career as a sculptor from the late 1960s until 2007.