Barclay works in various mediums including live performance, sculpture, and neons. Barclay's first solo exhibition in London was held at Cubitt Gallery in 2016. The next year he exhibited
The Hero Wears Clay Shoes at Tate Britain. In 2020 his work was included in the
British Art Show 9. Barclay's 2021 show,
England’s Lost Camelot, focused on themes of black political resistance and folklore. His show
In The Name Of The Father was exhibited at South London Gallery in 2022. Eddy Frankel, Art & Culture Editor for
Time Out magazine, wrote that the exhibition works to make the viewer feel the sense of alienation and exclusion that Barclay experienced growing up
black in the north of England. It included the work
Pittu Pithu Pitoo, described by
Art Monthly as "a giant pile of boulders" that obstructs the view into the exhibition. The work was unveiled as a new addition to
Yorkshire Sculpture Park in 2024. Its form and title reference an Indian game, involving a ball and a pile of
seven stones, played by the artist in his youth. Barclay's first performance work,
The Ruin, took place at London's
Institute of Contemporary Arts in January 2025. It was commissioned by the
Roberts Institute of Art. Featuring Barclay's spoken words, plus musical accompaniment from horns and percussion, it dealt with the artist's memories of growing up in 1980s Huddersfield.
Frieze magazine described it as adding "visceral intimacy and vulnerability" to Barclay's practice. As part of the
Coventry Biennial 2025, Simeon Barclay was commissioned to curate the exhibition
Kinda Blu, with work drawn exclusively from the
Arts Council Collection. == References ==