Skaer was born in Cambridge and studied at the Glasgow School of Art. Much of her work consists of her interacting with, and changing, public spaces. In one piece, she took up a paving stone on Glasgow’s Buchanan Street and then had the Earl of Glasgow ceremoniously lay down a replacement, while in an Amsterdam-based piece, she left a diamond and a scorpion side-by-side on a pavement. She has also secretly hidden moth and butterfly pupae in criminal courts in the hope that they will hatch in mid-trial.
Skaer has also exhibited drawings and is a member of the Henry VIII’s Wives collective of artists.
In 2003, Skaer was shortlisted for the Beck’s Futures prize. She currently lives and works in Glasgow.
In 2008 Skaer was the subject of a mid-career retrospective at the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland which included newly commissioned work. There was a comprehensive monograph published to accompany the show.
Her most recent major solo exhibition is ‘A Boat Used As A Vessel’, Kunsthalle Basel, Basel, Switzerland (April 2009 – June 2009).
Lucy Skaer is represented by doggerfisher, Edinburgh (www.doggerfisher.com)
In April 2009, she was shortlisted for the Turner Prize.
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