Images: Clare Farrow, photo by Lan-Tien Sophia Guo; with Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, “Paper Sanctuary”, 2023, photo by Candida Richardson.
“I am a curator and writer, with a background in art and design history, but also, equally, in literature and music. So, my perceptions tend to be very interconnected - not quite to the extremes of synaesthesia, where you see a colour and hear a sound, like Kandinsky; but almost! And this is something that I play with and explore in my work. … I have been honoured to collaborate with some of the leading practitioners in the worlds of art, architecture, design, music, fashion, and photography, and have discovered many shared values.” Clare Farrow, Royal College of Art lecture, 2025
Clare Farrow Studio is a curating, research, writing, events, and production studio in London, with international experience including highlight exhibitions and installations for the V&A, London Design Festival, Somerset House, London Design Biennale, Roca and Barcelona Galleries, English Heritage, and Milan Design Week.
The Studio has collaborated with outstanding artists, architects, photographers, designers, manufacturers, material researchers, academics, dancers, composers, filmmakers, and charitable foundations (among them Voluntary Architects’ Network and London Music Fund); and also supports young talent, working with colleges and universities such as Royal College of Art, Goldsmiths, The Bartlett, The Architectural Association (AA), and the KUMA LAB, providing opportunities for BA and MA students.
Sponsored by international brands, including Harman Kardon, OPPO, Mikimoto, KP Acoustics, Perspex International, and Mineral Sound, the Studio has also been supported using public funding by Arts Council England, and Japan Foundation. With further support from The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation (GBSF), Daiwa Foundation, The Japan Society, Arup, and Awagami Factory.
Clare Farrow is now launching ‘Gallery Lightness21’ (see Gallery and Artists pages) and is open to inquiries and collaborations. Please also see Services for options to work together.
Please contact: clarefarrow21@gmail.com
“All that happens to us … is given to us as raw material, as clay, so that we may shape our art.” Jorge Luis Borges
Exhibitions, Events and Recent Writings
2014 Tree Recordings with YCAM for composer and environmentalist Ryuichi Sakamoto, Sapporo International Arts Festival (SIAF), Japan. Sound experiment and exhibition.
2014 ‘Container for Thought': A Meeting of Architecture & Music’ by Shigeru Ban and Ryuichi Sakamoto, designed for the V&A John Madejski Garden. Unrealised exhibition.
2015-16 ‘Childhood ReCollections: Memory in Design’, featuring Zaha Hadid, Kengo Kuma, Nieto Sobejano, Daniel Libeskind, Denise Scott Brown, Philip Treacy, Adolfo Domínguez, Custo Dalmau, Roca London and Barcelona Galleries. Two exhibitions and printed catalogues in English, Spanish and Catalan.
2017 ‘Face to Face with Memory’, with Kengo Kuma and Heatherwick Studio, Roca London Gallery. Talk event.
2018-19 ‘Timber Rising: Vertical Visions for the Cities of Tomorrow’, co-curated with Studio Woode, Roca London and Barcelona Galleries. Examining the history of building tall and using wood in architecture, and showcasing new experiments with engineered timber in world architecture and product design. Exhibition and printed newspaper publication.
2018-19 ‘Memory & Light’ by Arup and Arvo Pärt, Norfolk House Music Room, V&A, for London Design Festival 2018, and Belsay Hall for English Heritage, 2019. Presented by Harman Kardon. Two exhibitions.
2019 ‘Bamboo Ring: Weaving into Lightness’ by Kengo Kuma, John Madejski Garden, V&A / London Design Festival. Partnered by OPPO.
2020 ‘Musicity Expo 1’, with Nick Luscombe, London Design Festival, 8 digital projects with architects & musicians
2021 ‘Reinventing Texture’ by Toshiki Hirano / Kengo Kuma Laboratory at the University of Tokyo, Somerset House / London Design Biennale. Experimental installation with Washi paper
2021 ‘Bamboo Ring’ by Kengo Kuma with Musicity / Midori Komachi, Fuorisalone / Milan Design Week with Interni magazine
2022 ‘Bamboo Ring’ by Kengo Kuma / Kuma Lab, Arte Sella, Italy
2023 ‘Paper Sanctuary', The Humanitarian Pavilion by Shigeru Ban, Somerset House / London Design Biennale, exh. & film
2023-24 ‘Small Spaces in the City: Rethinking Inside the Box’, Roca London Gallery / London Design Festival 2023
2025 ‘Paper Clouds: Materiality in Empty Space’, Japan Pavilion, The Nelson Stair, Somerset House, London Design Biennale 2025
2025 Feature articles on Multi-functional Mid-century Furniture and Charlotte Perriand for ’Never Too Small’ magazine
Images below: Clare Farrow in Roca Barcelona Gallery for a “Timber Rising” exhibition event, 2019; Interviewing Kengo Kuma with filmmaker Candida Richardson for a mini documentary on the making of “Paper Clouds”, 2025
