Photo: Yipski
Brian Clarke has recently been in Germany proofing the publication of a series of his sketchbooks entitled Work. The series will comprise of seven volumes in slipcase published by Steidl.
WORK presents images from Brian Clarke’s sketchbooks, which explore various themes as they evolve into “finished” artworks throughout his working practice. WORK is structured into seven volumes, six of which embrace specific themes: the fleur de lys, landscapes and seascapes, CDJ (a male figurative study), heraldry, splashes, and skulls. The seventh volume is an index for the other six volumes, showing large-scale artworks that resulted from the thematic explorations in the sketchbooks. Including oil paintings, stained glass, works in lead and mosaics, the index is, in Clarke’s words, the “parts of the sum” as evident in the other volumes. Clarke’s sketchbooks embody the poetic journey through which he explores ideas, and present a myriad of medias incorporating drawing, collage, watercolour and photography. Each volume in WORK contains a selection of images from multiple sketchbooks, and is thus a distilled vision of the lyrical investigatory processes that shape Clarke’s art. Brian Clarke is one of the world’s leading artists who incorporates art with architectural environments. Working in painting, mosaic, tapestry and particularly stained glass, his collaborators include Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid, Arata Isozaki, and Future Systems. His work adorns buildings such as the Pyramid of Peace in Kazakhstan, the Al Faisaliah Centre in Riyadh, and the Pfizer World Headquarters in New York. Clarke is a visiting Professor of Architectural Art at University College London, an honorary fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects and chairman of The Architecture Foundation. He is represented by Tony Shafrazi Gallery in New York and Faggionato Fine Art in London.