Clare Belfrage has maintained a distinguished practice for over thirty years.
Her detailed and complex glass drawings on blown glass forms reflect a level of artistic innovation and mastery of her craft that makes her one of Australia’s most renowned artists in this medium.
Inspired by nature and its various rhythms and energies, Clare’s unique sculptural objects express her fine attention to detail and a deep interest in the minutiae of the natural world.
“As an artist, my point of view is often looking from close up. The big feeling that ‘small’ gives me is intimate and powerful.
The industry in nature, its rhythm and energy, dramatic and delicate still holds my fascination as does the language and processes of glass.”
In Sight Dark Purple and Blue, 2018
A Measure of Time – A Film By Randy Larcombe.
Collection in Blue and Brown, 2020
Clare has received numerous awards and honours including the inaugural FUSE Glass Prize in 2016 and the Tom Malone Glass Prize in 2005 and 2011.
She was the featured artist for the 2018 SALA Festival and celebrated as one of South Australia’s most influential artists working in a craft medium through JamFactory’ Icon series, presenting a solo exhibition, A Measure of Time, for a 3-year national tour.
She is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of South Australia and has held several significant industry roles including Creative Director of Canberra Glassworks from 2009 to 2013. She has taught in University-based education in Australia and the US, as well as teaching workshops in Australia, New Zealand, the US and Japan.
Clare continues to exhibit extensively and is represented in major public collections throughout Australia, the US and Europe including the National Gallery of Australia, the Corning Museum of Glass, USA and Ebeltoft Glass Museum, Denmark.