Read about the inaugural exhibition currently showing at White Chapel Somerset, our renovated family home in Langport.

Clementina, a Somerset-raised and based artist, has been a multidisciplinary creator for over 30 years, working across mediums such as millinery, jewellery, textiles, and printmaking. Her debut solo exhibition distils this vast practice into a remarkable collection of over 80 works, now ranging from paintings and ceramics to works on paper.

Figure 1

The exhibition is taking place at White Chapel Somerset, a freshly renovated family home which is gradually opening its doors for exhibitions, talks and suppers. White Chapel Somerset houses a varied collection of modern art and design and is proud to be exhibiting work that roots itself in the modernist tradition aligning closely with the building itself and the collection.

Clementina’s works on paper, which fill the walls of the space, are a significant display of the artist’s varied and instinctive approach. With an innate understanding of form and colour, she creates a dynamic interplay between these elements while subtly expressing the feminine. Bold, intuitive lines further imbue her pieces with a sense of vitality. These are reminiscent of lithographs in the White Chapel Somerset’s Modern Originals collection by seminal modernists Joan Miro or Alexander Calder.

Figure 2

Clementina’s fearless experimentation pushes the boundaries of traditional practices, transferring her printmaking experience into multi-layered pieces of paint and collage. These works challenge the modernist approach to flatness and abstraction, as seen in Figures 2 and 3, where colour and unexpected textures play on the surface, drawing the viewer’s eye deeper. The layers of colour, surface, and texture invite a further exploration of the ineffable space between. 

Figure 3

Clementina’s approach to figuration is equally instinctive yet more stylised. “They come from my head,” she says of her figures - imaginary muses embodying nobody and everybody at once. The figurative works on paper draw influence from ancient Egyptian and Mughal paintings, enmeshed within the abstract picture plane. Emerging from the depths of the work, these figures reflect the complexity of her process, combining paint and representation to create rich, occasionally haunting, images.

Figure 4

In her paintings Clementina gives the medium agency, allowing a fluid dialogue to unfold. “I work with what it’s telling me... it challenges me a bit as well,” she explains. The four mixed media paintings in this show, curated into two pairs, juxtapose one another, see Figure 5. Two pieces, rendered in pinks and blues, evoke the frothing energy of the sea, while the other two capture a natural tension; one like a rush of flame, the other cracking ice, or the glowing depths of a rock pool. Together, these works represent the elemental forces of the world, in turn foregrounding the natural and autonomous aspects of paint as an elemental medium.

Figure 5

Clementina’s ceramics offer an alternate facet of her creativity. Many are minimal, made from white porcelain enmeshed with domestic objects or contrastingly  from nature. For example, Clementina uses natural sea sponge fired with porcelain, associating with the aspects of the deep blue seen in her paintings and works on paper. The sponges and the more sculptural ceramics rely on texture and fragility, their forms changing with the light and environment. They rest on terracotta or wood plinths, to highlight the bone-like whiteness of the medium.  Other ceramics, such as a blue bowl flecked with gold, mirror her layered approach to paper. Her more decorative pieces - featuring local animals seen from her Mill House in Somerset - illustrate a connection to place and home. 

Figure 6

Clementina’s connection to modernist traditions is subtle yet undeniable, shaped by both her environment and her artistic lineage. Her admiration for her parents - Scottish artist Catherine Sinclair, and Polish artist Caziel - grounds her in the modernist tradition. In interviews, she recalls their advice to exercise restraint while maintaining a bold approach. This attitude is encapsulated by the three largest works on paper. These works stands as totems of homage to her father’s abstract canvases, while maintaining their own distinct voice.

Figure 7

Heritage, though indirect, informs Clementina’s work, allowing her modernist sensibilities and environmental surroundings to merge with her instinctive process. The result is a body of work that feels both grounded and exploratory, deeply rooted in the joy of creating. Described by the artist as a “sweet shop,” this exhibition offers colours and forms that appeal to every taste. While her art echoes modernist traditions, it transcends representation, focusing on creation. Viewers can expect to be immersed in a world where instinct, experimentation, and form collide in captivating and unexpected ways.