Serving as acts of dedication, Elizabeth Radcliffe’s weavings memorialise moments in her life, and are imbued with a considerable amount of her labour. There is a striking continuity of concern between works completed four decades ago, based upon waxed motorcycle jackets, and a more recent series that takes tennis wear as its subject. In each, a garment points to the sartorial sensibility of its wearer, and provides a set of material conditions that form the basis of Radcliffe’s enquiry. Highly attentive to the tactile finish of the fabric that she is replicating by other means, she employs a range of materials that are both natural and synthetic. Another distinctive feature of her output, including her most recent offerings, is the use of a shaped silhouette. Appearing as if cut from the fabric of his surroundings, a portrait of Marc Camille-Chaimowicz harbours affinities with the milieu in which her approach was formed; a 1970s Edinburgh populated by figures such as the Pop artist Eduardo Paolozzi and director of the Dovecot Tapestry Studio Archie Brennan. These are points of reference that Radcliffe has absorbed, repurposing them to her own ends.
Elizabeth Radcliffe (b.1949, Edinburgh, Scotland) lives and works in Edinburgh, Scotland. She received a Diploma in Art from Edinburgh College of Art, Scotland in 1973. Selected solo and group exhibitions include: Women in Revolt, curated by Linsey Young, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland (2024-25); Elizabeth Radcliffe, Margot Samel, New York, NY (2024); Women in Revolt, curated by Linsey Young, Tate Britain, London, UK (2023-24); Four Voices, Hopetoun House, Scotland (2023); Elizabeth Radcliffe, Celine, Glasgow, Scotland (2022); Atelier EB: Passer-by, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia (2020); Atelier EB: Passer-by, Serpentine Gallery, London, UK (2019); Atelier EB: Passer-by, Lafayette Anticipations Galerie, Paris, France (2019); Decorum, Musee d Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (2013-2014); Vive la Tapisserie, French Institute, Edinburgh, Scotland (2012); Town-Gown Conflict, Kunsthalle Zürich, Switzerland (2011); Four Voices, Tweeddale Museum and Gallery, Peebles, Scotland (2011); Vive la Tapisserie, Galerie La Tour, Montsales, France (2011); The Inventors of Tradition, Glasgow, London, Brussels, Berlin, Edinburgh, New York (2011); The Scottish Show Switzerland, Musee de Design et d’Art Applique Contemporains, Lausanne, Switzerland (2008-09). Upcoming group exhibitions include Women in Revolt, curated by Linsey Young, The Whitworth, The University of Manchester, UK (2025) and Looking Back: White Columns Annual exhibition, White Columns, New York, NY (2025).
