Carole Steyn facts for kids

Carole Steyn (born 1938) is a British artist who creates paintings, sculptures, and ceramic art. She was born in Manchester, England, and now lives in London. Carole uses many different materials in her art. Her work is inspired by various styles, including Russian Constructivism for her sculptures and artists like Nevelson for her relief art.

About Carole Steyn

Carole Steyn studied art at several famous schools. In 1953, she went to the Académie Julian in Paris. From 1954 to 1956, she studied at the Saint Martin's School of Art. Later, in 1968, she studied sculpture at the Camden Arts Centre.

During the 1970s, Carole had many solo art shows at the Drian Galleries in London. She also showed her work with groups like the Free Painters and Sculptors at the Mall Galleries. From 1974 to 1976, she exhibited with the Women's International Art Club at the Drian Galleries and Camden Arts Centre.

In 1988, Carole Steyn was featured in a BBC2 TV series called Out of the Doll's House. This series explored how women's lives changed during the 20th century. She also took part in a project called Hanging Out, which looked at youth culture from the 1950s and 1960s compared to today. Carole once said that during her time at Saint Martin's School of Art in the 1950s, she and her friends were sometimes called "beatniks" because of their artistic and free-spirited attitudes.

Artistic Journey

Carole Steyn's early art included abstract relief work. This means her art was not flat but had raised parts. She used natural materials like eggs, nuts, and seeds to create textures. These artworks often looked like the bottom of the ocean, showing her interest in the powerful feelings the sea can bring. Her Seabed collages captured the movement, colors, and rhythm of the ocean floor. Carole wrote that "The deep blue sea has a moody and turbulent vibe. It also bears mystical and fertility connotations."

The Drian Galleries loved Carole's work in the 1970s and 1980s. Her solo shows included art made from nylon bonded clay. She shaped this material into wavy, flower-like forms. These pieces showed the strong power of growth and the swirling movements of water.

For her 1981 solo show at the Drian, Carole displayed many different types of sculptures and relief art. Her art celebrated themes of nature, life, and death. In the Fertility section, she used eggs and nuts to represent new life. Her Flow series continued ideas from an earlier exhibition. The Bones series featured bones arranged into collage relief art. Her Universal Trees of Life artworks celebrated how nature keeps going on and on.

By her 1985 solo exhibition, Carole's collages and sculptures became smaller and more like paintings. She also showed nine large abstract oil paintings that hinted at the feeling of light. In her notes for the show, she wrote that "living art is a struggle between formal perfection and creative emotion" and "my only security is the knowledge that sometimes I may be able to make something beautiful."

Art Shows

Solo Exhibitions

• 1971, Abstract relief, eggs, nuts, Drian Galleries, London
• 1975, New Abstract reliefs, Flow period, Drian Galleries, London
• 1981, First Retrospective Exhibition, Drian Galleries, London
• 1985, Abstract oil paintings and new abstract collages, Drian Galleries, London
• 1987, Reliefs and Paintings and Pastels, Jablonski Gallery, London
• 1991, Oils, Pastels, Drawings, Prints, Galerie Harounoff, London

Group Exhibitions

• 1968, Abstract relief, Redmark Gallery, London
• 1972, Mansard Gallery, Heal's, London
• 1972, O'Hana Gallery, London
• 1973, Free Painters and Sculptors, The Mall Galleries, London
• 1973, Sculptures and Reliefs, Drian Galleries, London
• 1973, Ben Uri Gallery, London
• 1974, Free Painters and Sculptors, The Mall Galleries, London
• 1974, The Feminine Eye, Women's International Art Club, Drian Galleries, London
• 1975, FPS Trends 1975: Painting and Sculpture, Free Painters and Sculptors, The Mall Galleries, London
• 1975, Women's International Art Club, Camden Arts Centre, London
• 1976, Women's International Art Club, London

Where to See Her Art

Carole Steyn's artwork can be found in these collections, galleries, and museums:

• The Schools Collection, Sheffield, UK
• National Museum, Warsaw, Poland
• National Museum, Gdańsk, Poland