Carpenter van Barthold studied at Chelsea College and the Royal College of Art in London. He says about his work: “It’s funny how the appearance of a thing and its reality rarely seem to coincide. I am drawn to those things where this gap seems largest. I have a feeling that they know something that I don’t, and that can only be glimpsed sidewise but never known directly.” Carpenter van Barthold works on paper, bronze, iron, clay, and plaster. His work is in university, national and private collections in the UK, North America, and Europe.