Sheila Girling

Sheila Girling (1924 – 2015), was a British artist whose oeuvre includes works in clay, paper collage and, perhaps what she is best known for, large-scale abstract paintings.

In 1947, having studied at Birmingham School of Art, Girling went on to study at The Royal Academy Schools. There she met British sculptor Anthony Caro (1924-2013). The couple married in 1949 and spent the rest of their lives working together, engaging with each other’s practice. For instance, Girling selected the colours for many of Caro’s works, choosing and applying the red for ‘Early One Morning’ 1962, and selecting the blue of the Perspex disc in ‘Blue Moon’ 2013.

In 1963 Girling and Caro moved to Vermont, USA.  Whilst there Girling developed close relations with the Colour Field painters who were of enormous influence on her practice, including introducing her to acrylic paints which, at that time, had hardly appeared in Europe. The fast-paced freedom afforded by the medium proved ideal for the large-scale, expressive, abstract canvases that Girling began to paint.

In 1978 Girling travelled to Syracuse, New York to take part in a clay workshop with ceramicist Margie Hughto. This experience led Girling to make a new body of work in clay which, breaking with tradition, put pigment into the clay rather than onto its surface.

From 1982-1992, Girling and Caro set-up and ran Triangle Workshop, an artistic network that connected abstract painters and sculptors across continents. Here, Girling developed her collage painting technique that features throughout her late body of work.

Sheila Girling’s works are included in many private and public collections, nationally and internationally. These include: Museum Würth, Kunzelsau, Germany; The Royal Collection Trust, Windsor Castle, London, UK; Edmonton Art Gallery, Alberta, Canada; IVAM Museum, Valencia, Spain and Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, USA.