LAURA FORD

Born in 1961, Laura Ford grew up in a fairground family in South Wales. She studied at Bath Academy of Art (1978-82), including a term at Cooper Union School of Art in New York City, and then at Chelsea School of Art (1982-1983).

Ford’s sculptures sit on the boundary of reality and fantasy. She draws on childhood memory, history, literature and wider social and political questions to imbue her creations with bittersweet, menacing and endearing qualities. Her work is intensely crafted but playful, and she uses a range of media including textiles, metalwork, drawing, painting and ceramic.

“Ford can achieve pathos, humour, absurdity and terror – all with a smart and often surprising choice of medium. The shape-shifting and metamorphic quality of her work has to do with the sheer stuff that forms it as much as the boundary-crossing creatures it portrays.” – Boyd Tonkin, The Independent

“Ford provides us with acutely graphic renditions of human emotion, mental and physical. Her imagery is all about remembering and giving memory clarity.” – Dr. Penelope Curtis, former director of Tate Britain

While still a student, Ford was invited to take part in the annual ‘New Contemporaries’ exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (1982) and ‘The Sculpture Show’ (1983) at the Serpentine and Hayward Galleries. In 2000 she was included in ‘The British Art Show 5’, alongside British artists like Phyllida Barlow, Jeremy Deller, Michael Landy, Susan Hiller, Tracy Emin and Sarah Lucas. In 2005 she represented Wales in the Venice Biennale.

Ford’s work has been shown widely in the UK and internationally, with solo exhibitions at De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill (2002); Salamanca Centre of Contemporary Art, Spain (2002); Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston (2002); Houldsworth Gallery, London (2002, 2004); Aberystwyth Arts Centre (2002); Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Llandudno (2002); Glynn Vivian, Swansea (2002, 2011); Beaconsfield Contemporary Art, London (2004); New Art Centre, Salisbury (2006, 2012); Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh (2006); Turner Contemporary, Margate (2007); Galerie Scheffel, Bad Homburg, Germany (2008, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2020); Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, USA (2011); Schaetzlerpalais, Augsburg, Germany (2013); Villa Wessel, Iserlohn, Germany (2015, 2016); Strawberry Hill, London (2015); Abbot Hall & Blackwell House (2016); Pallant House, Chichester (2016); Kunst Galerie Fürth, Germany (2016); Cardiff Contemporary (2016); Schwetzingen Palace, Germany (2017); D'Ursel Castle, Belgium (2017); Brighton Museum and Art Gallery (2017); Museum im Kleihues-Bau, Stuttgart, Germany (2018); Gallery TEN. Castell Coch, Cardiff (2018); Howick Place, London (2020); East Quay, Somerset (2022); Liminal Gallery, Margate (2024); Bo Lee and Workman, Bruton (2024).

Permanent works include Weeping Girls at Jupiter Artland, Edinburgh, and Bird Boy on The Line in Greenwich, London. Recent public commissions include Patient Patients at Southmead Hospital, Bristol (2014) and Heidelberg University Children’s Hospital, Germany (2012).

Laura Ford’s work is represented in many public and private collections including Tate, The Victoria and Albert Museum, Government Art Collection, Potteries Museum, National Museums and Gallery of Wales; Museum of Modern Art, University of Iowa; Arts Council of Great Britain; Contemporary Art Society; Unilever plc; Penguin Books; Oldham Art Gallery; The New Art Gallery Walsall; The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery; Pallant House; University of Warwick; Visvim Tokyo, Japan; Bundesbank, Germany; Atkinson Collection, UK; Château Vullierens, Switzerland; The Meijer Gardens; Grand Rapids USA; The Gateway Foundation, St. Louis; and more.

Laura Ford lives and works in West Sussex alongside her husband, the sculptor Andrew Sabin. Together they run the educational organisation Matt Black Barn. She has been president of the Royal Society of Sculptors since 2022.