Phyllida Barlow

Phyllida Barlow was a British sculptor born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1944. Known for her monumental, site-specific installations, she transformed inexpensive materials—including cardboard, plywood, fabric, plaster, polystyrene, and cement—into imposing yet deliberately fragile structures.Barlow’s brightly painted sculptures explored mass, balance, construction, and the relationship between objects and architectural space. Often playful and anti-monumental, her works exposed their rough surfaces and visible methods of assembly. She represented Great Britain at the 2017 Venice Biennale and became one of the most influential British sculptors of her generation. Barlow died in 2023.