Will Cruickshank (b.1974) creates tactile and often textile-based sculptures that are visually harmonious in form, pattern and colour. Using repurposed equipment such as cement mixers, bicycles and potter's wheels, his practice harnesses the repeating nature of these machines to sculpt, wrap and turn his materials into forms that are only in part determined by himself. Material, machine and maker, each take their turn in leading or resisting outcomes and it is a sensitivity to this push and pull that drives the work.
Echoed within the harmony, order and structure of his minimal forms is the meditative nature of his methodology, that has grown through a devotional engagement with material and process. His studio is both a site of play and a space to relinquish control, where ritual and repetition are constructive aesthetic principles, and thinking happens only through doing.
Skilled at making and mending, a philosophy for perseverance and resilience sustains Cruickshank’s resourceful approach to creating, where nothing is discarded and there are no loose ends. His interest in unusual combinations of material means waste often becomes useful, and offcuts, failures, and accidents can be fed back into new pieces. Surfaces are eroded, cut open, or blasted away, to reveal their constituent ingredients, with every finished work providing a new set of questions.
Solo Exhibitions
Way Station. Bo Lee and Workman Gallery. Bruton, Somerset. 2024.
Three Moons. Exeter Phoenix Gallery, Exeter. 2023.
Inside Outside. MAAB Gallery, Milan. 2022.
Silo. Fold Gallery, London. 2020.
Low Tide. Coleman Project Space, London. 2019.
Rotations. Saloni Projects, London. 2019.
Push and Pull. Aspex Gallery, Portsmouth. 2018.
Swing Time. Studio 1.1, London. 2012.
Everything. Studio 1.2, Haarlem, Netherlands. 2011.
Anything. Festival Cement. Maastricht, Netherlands. 2011.
Combine. Studio 1.1, London. 2009.
Columbo. Coleman Projects, London. 2008.
Wheelbarrow Piano. Pallas Contemporary Projects, Dublin, Ireland. 2008.
The Shampoo. Studio 1.1, London. 2007.
Projects. Rosy Wilde Gallery, London. 2004.
JUST. SOAP Gallery, Kokura, Kitakyushu-shi, Japan. 1998.
Selected Group Exhibitions
Hi, Tech!. MAAB Gallery, Milan. 2024.
Become an Object. Tremenheere Gallery. Penzance, Cornwall. 2024.
Revival. All Saint's Church. Cambridge. 2024.
Threads. Arnolfini. Bristol. 2023.
Reverse Parking. Thames-Side Studio Gallery, London. 2023.
Two Rooms. Bo Lee and Workman. Bruton, Somerset. 2022.
If These Walls Could Talk. Curated by Stephanie Ruth. 2022.
Flock. Bo Lee and Workman. Bruton, Somerset. 2022.
The Factory Project. Recreational Grounds/Thorpe Stavri, London. 2021.
EQX. French Riviera, London. 2021.
Mass. Saatchi Gallery, London. 2021.
Washing Line. Thames-Side Gallery, London. 2020.
Mark-Making in Textile. Gallery X, Royal Academy, London. 2020.
Parade. Broadway Gallery, Letchworth. 2020.
Entre Amis Deux. French Riviera, London. 2020.
Amalgamation. Cello Factory, London. 2019.
Object Meditation. After Nyne Gallery, London. 2019.
Open Construction. Saturation Point, Barking. 2019.
Uptwist Downtwist. Ty Pawb, Wrexham, Wales. 2019.
Harder Edge. Saatchi Gallery, London. 2019.
Between Things, The Minories Galleries, Colchester, Essex. 2017.
Creekside Open. APT Gallery. London. 2015.
Two showers. Supernormal, Oxfordshire. 2014.
Grand Magasin. French Riviera Gallery. London. 2013.
Two showers. Supernormal Festival. Braziers Park. 2013.
Swing Harmonograph. Kunstvlaai, Amsterdam. 2012.
Members Show. Outpost Gallery, Norwich. 2012.
Les Televisions. French Riviera, London. 2011.
Exhaustion and Exhuberance. Eastside Projects, Birmingham. 2011.
Working Title. Aspex Gallery, Portsmouth. 2011.
Shelter with balls. Supernormal. Braziers Park. 2011.
Small Scale Survival. Aid & Abet. Cambridge. 2011.
Two Pavilions. Supernormal. Braziers Park. 2010.
Jetty. The Boathouse. Port Eliot Festival. 2010.
Dorm. The Model, Sligo, Ireland. 2010.
The Bird Scarer. Piggotts Farm, Essex. 2010.
No Soul For Sale. Tate Modern, London. 2010.
Institute for objective measurement. August Art. 2009.
The Silo. Piggotts Farm, Essex. 2009.
A Pair of Fires. Port Eliot Festival. Cornwall. 2009.
An inquiry into (the/a/-) disruption of creativity. Waterside Project Space. 2009.
Survey. Standpoint Gallery, London. 2009.
The Hot Chocolate Machine. Zhongdian, Yunnan, China. 2007.
Flying Bike. Golden Dragon Street Studios, Zhongdian, Yunnan, China. 2007.
Sausage Trees. Coleman Project Space, London. 2007.
The Boring English Countryside. August Art, London. 2007.
Mixed Pickles – Overloaded. K3 Project Space, Zurich. 2006.
Grotto. Studio 1.1, London. 2007.
Make Believe. Shillam+Smith, London. 2006.
Supertankers. August Art, London. 2006.
Grotto II. Jessica Murray Projects, Brooklyn, USA. 2004.
Ergo thus. Martinez Gallery, Brooklyn, USA. 2003.
Chockerfuckingblocked. Jeffrey Charles Gallery, London. 2003.
Balmy Daze. Houldsworth, London. 2002.
Out of Place. Bury St Edmunds Art Gallery. 2002.
Food Hall. Houldsworth, London. 2001.
Awards, Residencies & Fellowships
Arts Council England. DYCP award for studio research. 2018-2019.
Artist in Residence, Supernormal Festival, Oxfordshire. 2010-2014.
Working Title Residency. Aspex Gallery, Portsmouth. 2011.
Artist in Residence, Coleman Project Space, London. 2008.
Arts Council England International Artists Fellowship, initiated by Braziers International Artists Workshop. Lijiang Studios/Golden Dragon Street Studios, Zhongdian, Yunnan Province, China. Residency. 2007.
Braziers International Artists Workshop. Braziers Park, Oxfordshire. 2006.
Education
Manchester Metropolitan University. 1994-97. 1st BA(Hons) Fine Art (Sculpture).