





Clunie Fretton
Woodcarver
London, United Kingdom
Recommended by Duncan Campbell & Charlotte Rey
Ornamental carving bridging the antique and the contemporary
- Clunie is a multi award-winning master carver, sculptor, restorer and gilder
- Her primary materials are wood and stone, alongside bronze, plaster and gold
- She contributes to the ongoing development of UK heritage skills through her teaching
Clunie Fretton is a classically trained sculptor, carver and gilder, who graduated from City & Guilds of London Art School in 2015 with a Distinction in ornamental woodcarving and gilding. She served as the Carving Fellow for the year 2015-2016 before setting up her current practice with partner Felix Handley. Clunie has been awarded numerous prizes, including the Journeyman and Master Carver Certificate under the Master Certificate scheme that recognises excellence in craftsmanship, and she is a scholar of the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust. Clunie is a member of the Master Carvers’ Association, the oldest association of carvers in the world. "My work in restoration and conservation, as well as in the arts, grants me a sensitivity and understanding when working with Listed buildings or antique objects, as well as in the creation of new artworks," she says. Her work is in the Houses of Parliament, the Victoria & Albert Museum, St. George's Chapel Windsor, London livery companies, as well as in museums, cathedrals and churches around the UK.
Discover her work
INTERVIEW
The exceptional work from the past which is on display in cathedrals, churches, and museums. Often the smallest carving, by an unremembered sculptor, can be the most beautiful.
I work within the English ornamental carving tradition, especially when it comes to restoration, but I also look to what can be done with carving now, in the modern era, and how we as contemporary carvers can continue to grow the craft.
The European ornamental carving tradition has very strong roots, and particular styles and types of ornament have developed in each country where it was practiced. I have grown up in a country full of ornamental carving, and it is this tradition that gives me inspiration.
The most memorable moment was when I worked on the restoration of Guildford Cathedral’s Children’s Chapel. My partner Felix Handley and I restored the paintwork and gilding there in 2018, and it was a very moving experience to see how many people came there to remember children who they had lost.
Clunie Fretton
Woodcarver
London, United Kingdom
Recommended by Duncan Campbell & Charlotte Rey
AVAILABILITY
By appointment only
LANGUAGES
English
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