Brian Clarke

Mosaic Path "From Life to Life, a Garden for George Harrison." Chelsea Flower Show, London, May, 2008

The Brian Clarke mosaic for the From Life to Life, A Garden for George. At the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, London.

The garden was conceived and designed by Olivia Harrison and Yvonne Innes. Brian collaborated with the design and fabrication of a sinuous coloured path that unwinds through the garden and reflects the various stages of George Harrison's life. From Liverpool to enlightenment.

From Life to Life:

Phillips de Pury & Company

DON’T FORGET THE LAMB:

RECENT PAINTINGS AND STAINED GLASS BY BRIAN CLARKE ON VIEW AND FOR SALE AT PHILLIPS de PURY & COMPANY, NEW YORK

EXHIBITION 13 SEPTEMBER – 1 OCTOBER

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

London – August 12 – Phillips de Pury & Company will present an exhibition of selected paintings and stained-glass works by Brian Clarke, the British artist and a forerunner of contemporary stained glass, to be held at the company’s New York galleries from 13 September – 1 October.

His principle medium being light, Brian Clarke’s compositions in colored glass hold the power to transform a space. His work can be found in historic locations across the globe, imbuing the interiors with renewed channels of contemplation and also in monumental glass projects which have expanded the remit of the modern architectural experience. Equally important to Brian Clarke’s practice is painting on canvas which allows the artist the freedom to explore and build his abstract symbolic language and its syncopated order and disruptions — devices which are often applied to his compositions in glass. The work in both painting and glass aspires to the transcendental and poetic and illustrates the artist’s proficiency with working across vastly different scales.

Thirty works will be exhibited and will present the vital pollination between painting and work in stained glass that has existed throughout the artist’s career. The material in this exhibition is both a distillation of the artist’s oeuvre to date as well as a progression of style in which image-making has addressed with the figure and more narrative than in the past.

Highlights of the exhibition will include a series of seven large portraits of influential figures in the artist’s life. Study for Portrait of John Piper, 2007, like many of the works in this exhibition, uses the human skull as a starting point. The skull forms the basis for these personal portraits; representing the elemental anatomy and architecture for the subject’s intellect which is then built upon with the emotive and psychological powers of color and form. The British artist, John Piper who died in 1993 was a mentor and early influence on the artist. He is represented here frontally, reminiscent of the perspective employed in Piper’s still-lives. Backlit by a luminous orange sun, the subject’s opaque skull is analogous to the lead of a stained-glass window. Additional works include portraits of Andy Warhol, Kenneth Clark, Henry Moore and Ben Nicholson.

Seven large lead and stained-glass works featuring the human skull present a new twist on the traditional use of stained glass. In these works, the lead has become the dominant feature, inscribed with the artist’s drawing and accented with contours of colored glass. These works bear witness to Brian Clarke’s mastery of his art and reveal the potency of painted glass as a medium.

Don’t Forget the Lamb and The Office for the Dead both completed this year, are two large works in lead and stained glass that embody many facets of the artist’s approach — a sophisticated and unconventional use of a traditional medium that expresses the emotion of profound loss, in this case the artist’s mother, with color, verse, and wit. In Don’t Forget the Lamb, daily shopping lists written in the artist’s mother’s hand are rendered in lead. The Office for the Dead incorporates a prosaic reminder to buy groceries and medication alongside references to mortality and the Book of Common Prayer.

The introduction in the accompanying catalogue will feature an interview with the artist by Doris Saatchi.

NOTES TO THE EDITORS ON BRIAN CLARKE:

Born in 1953 in Oldham, Lancashire, England, Brian Clarke currently lives and works in London, New York and Munich. Clarke’s prolific and multi-media practice is built upon using light to explore the essential link between art and architecture.

Since the early 1970s, the artist has worked on over two hundred stained glass projects in collaboration with some of the world’s most prominent architects and artists. Some of Clarke’s most notable “art-in-architecture” projects include: the stained glass for Linköping Cathedral in Linköping, Sweden; the stained glass and painting for Apax Partners Headquarters in London, UK; stained glass for the Pyramid of Peace in Astana, Kazakhstan (with Foster and Partners); the design for the Great South Window at Ascot’s New Grandstand in Ascot, UK; the façade for Pfizer Inc. in New York, USA; a suite of 26 stained glass and mosaic ceilings for Norte Shopping in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and the design for stained glass in Chep Lap Kok Airport (with Foster and Partners) in Hong Kong, China.

Clarke’s stained glass works, paintings and drawings have been widely exhibited, including at: Faggionato Fine Arts (London), Tony Shafrazi Gallery (New York), Gagosian Gallery (London), Stadt Museum Munchen
(Munich), the Mayor Gallery (London), Whitechapel Art Gallery (London), the Sezon Museum of Art Annex (Tokyo), the Seibu Museum of Art (Tokyo), the Centre International de Vitrail (Chartres), Deutsches
Architekturmuseum (Frankfurt), Robert Fraser Gallery (London) and the Royal Institue of British Architects.

In 1993, Clarke was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Institute of British Architects. Clarke has also enjoyed close collaborations with artists such as Linda McCartney and has executed important set and album designs for Sir Paul McCartney.

Exhibition:
13 September – 1 October

Viewing:
10 am – 5 pm (Monday – Saturday)

Phillips de Pury & Company
450 West 15 Street
New York, NY 10011
(212) 940-1200
www.phillipsdepury.com

Sales and Enquires:

Corey Barr + 1 212 940-1234
[email protected]

– END –

Contacts:

Cynthia Leung New York + 1 212 940-1280
[email protected]

Ariel Childs London + 44 20 7318 4028
[email protected]

PRESS RELEASE

Brian Clarke Exhibition in New York, 13th September 2008.

Brian Clarke WORK

Click the Steidl link opposite for more information.

Selected pages from BRIAN CLARKE WORK.

Pfizer Revisited

After a recent trip to New York City the Brian Clarke team returned with some new images of Brian's 1996 project for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals:
42nd St, three street level facade panel artworks.

42nd St, detail of the street level facade panel artworks.

Pfizer Inc, lobby ceiling.

Lecture for HOK Sport in December 2007

Brian Clarke Biography

1953
Born Oldham, Lancashire, England.
Lives and works in London, New York and Munich.

EXHIBITIONS AND PROJECTS

1975 Exhibition: "Brian Clarke - Glass Art One," Stained glass, Mid-Pennine Arts
Association, Arts Council of Great Britain.

1976 Stained glass for the Baptistery windows at St. Gabriel's Church,
Blackburn, England (architect: F.X. Verlarde).

Stained glass for the East window of All Saints Church, Habergham, England.

1977 Paintings and stained glass of the Queen's Medical Centre Chapel,
University of Nottingham, England.

1978 Lecture tour of the Universities of Kent, Manchester, Swansea and
Whitechapel Art Gallery.

1979 Exhibition: "Brian Clarke Drawings," St. Edmunds Art Centre,
Salisbury, England.

Exhibition: "Glass/Light Exhibition," Festival of the City of London, with John
Piper and Marc Chagall.

BBC1/Omnibus TV documentary "Brian Clarke - The Story So Far".

1980 Exhibition: "Brian Clarke - Paintings," Mappin Art Gallery and Museum,
City of Sheffield, England.

Exhibition: "Art in Education," Whitechapel Art Gallery, London.

Granada TV documentary "Celebration: Brian Clarke."

1981 Stained glass for the Laver's & Barraud Building, Endell Street,
London.

Exhbition: “Brian Clarke – Prints,” Vernon Gallery, Building Design Partnership, Preston. 4th – 28th August 1981

Paintings and stained glass for the lobby of Olympus Optical Europa GmbH,
Headquarters Building, Hamburg.

Exhibition: "Brian Clarke - New Paintings, Constructions and Prints,"
The Royal Institute of British Architects, London
(in association with Robert Fraser Gallery, London).

Lecture tour of Edinburgh, Preston, London and Manchester Polytechnics

Exhibition: "Brian Clarke - Prints," Vernon Gallery, Preston.

Publication of a series of prints dedicated to C.P. Snow, "The Two Cultures," published in association with the Robert Fraser Gallery, London.

1982 Lived and worked in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Exhibition: "Brian Clarke - Serigraphien und Mosaik,"
Franz Mayer’sche Hofkunstanstalt, München.

Stained glass for the skylight and clerestory, main hall, library and office of
the King Khaled International Airport, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
(architect: Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum).

Exhibition: "British Stained Glass," Centre International de Vitrail,
Chartres, France

Lived and worked in Rome, Italy.
1983 Exhibition: "Brian Clarke - Paintings," opening exhibition of
Robert Fraser Gallery, London, June 14 - July 15, 1983.

Exhibition: "Black/White," exhibition with Jean-Michel Basquiat,
Robert Fraser Gallery, London.

1984 Lived and worked in New York.

Exhibition: “Brian Clarke - Works on Paper, 1976 - 1984," with Ellsworth Kelly, Robert Fraser Gallery, London.

Doha Palace, designed a series of sculptural stained glass and windows for
the new Government BuildingDoha, Qatar, United Arab Emirates.

Lectures in New York and Rome, and at the Royal College of Art, London.
Council member of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.
BBC2 Saturday Review, 6/16/84.

1986 Lived in Rome, Italy.
Exhibition: "Brian Clarke - Stained Glass" Seibu Museum of Art,
Yurakacho, Tokyo.

Installation of "Modular Assemblage" (Painting) for Texas Instruments,
Texas, USA

1987 "Brian Clarke, Paintings - 1976 - 1986," Seibu Museum of Art, Ikebukuro,
Tokyo, travelled to Yao Seibu Exhibition Hall, Yao, Osaka, Japan
(catalogue).

Elan Vital by Junji Ito, published by Sezon Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan.
Stained glass for the barrel vaulted roof of the Cavendish Arcade,
Derbyshire, England. Europa Nostra Award. (architect: Sir Joseph Paxton, restoration: Derek Latham).
Installation of two opal screen windows in Tokyo for the
Sezon Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan.

1988 Stained glass for the central lantern tower and skylights of the
Lake Sagami Country Club, Yamanishi, Japan (architect: Arata Isozaki).

Stained glass and Torah shrine for the New Synagogue, Darmstadt, Germany (architect:Alfred Jacoby).

Lecture at the University of Edinburgh, Acanthus .

Exhibition: "British Art," The Mayor Gallery, London.

Exhibition: "Die Architektur der Synagoge"
Deutsches Architekturmuseum, Frankfurt.

Exhibition: "Brian Clarke, Malerei und Farbfenster 1977 - 1988",
Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt

Exhibition "Brian Clarke - Intimations of Mortality,"
Galerie Karsten Greve, Cologne.

1989 Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Exhibition: "Brian Clarke - Paintings," The Indar Pasricha Gallery, Hauz Khas,
New Delhi, India.

Exhibition: The Pyrri Art Centre, Savolinna, Finland.

Stained glass for the skylight of the Victoria Quarter,
(the world's largest stained glass window) Leeds, England.

Award: Leeds Award for Architecture, Civic Trust Award, 1991.

Arts Council, British Gas, Working for Cities, 1992 (special commendation).
Designed the Arena and Stadia stage sets for the Paul McCartney World Tour.

1990 Painting and stained glass for Cibreo Restaurant,
Tokyo, Japan, (architect for the interior: Naoki Iijima, building architect:
Nigel Coates).

Exhibition: "Brian Clarke - Into and Out of Architecture," The Mayor Gallery, London, April 26 - June 9, (catalogue).

"Brian Clarke," by Paul Beldock, Art Random book published by Kyoto Shoin,
Japan.

Exhibition: "Rockens Billeder - Images of Rock," Kunsthallen Brandts Klaedefabrik, Odense, Denmark.

Exhibition: “Brian Clarke - Architecture and Stained Glass,"
The Sezon Museum of Art, Annex Tokyo, Tokyo.

1991 Stained glass screen for Glaxo Pharmaceuticals,
London (architect: Skidmore Owings & Merrill).

The BBC Design Awards (juror).

Stained glass screens and tower for Stansted Airport,
Stansted, Essex, England (architect: Sir Norman Foster).

Stained glass roofs for the Spindles Shopping Centre,
Oldham, Lancashire (architect:Bernard Engle).

Stained glass entrance hall and canopies for 100 New Bridge Street,
London (architect: Renton Howard Wood and Levin).

Stained glass skylights for Aram Designs, Heath Street,
Hampstead, London.

Stained glass entrance for stairwell windows for 35-38 Chancery Lane, in
collaboration with sculptor Ivor Abrahams
London, (architect:Building Design Partnership).

Entrance wall with onyx, mosaic and stained glass for America House,
1 America Square, London (architect: Renton Howard Wood & Levin).

1992 Exhibition: "Addressing the Forbidden," Brighton Festival, Brighton.
Stills Gallery, Edinburgh Festival, Edinburgh.

Exhibition: The Drawing Centre, New York, NY.

Lecture at the University of Seoul, Korea.

Stained glass tower windows for Espana Telefonica, Placa Catalunya,
Barcelona for the 1992 Olympiad.

Tapestries and stained glass for the Carmelite, Carmelite Street,
London (architect: Trehearne & Norman).

Architectural Competition: The Glass Dune - Ministry of Environmental Building, Hamburg (architects: Future Systems).

Glass cladding and colouring to the main facade of the Hotel du Department des Bouches-du Rhone, Marseille, France (architect: Alsop & Störmer).

Stained glass screen for Chateau d'Orain, France.

Exhibition: "Light and Architecture,"
Ingolstadt, Germany (in collaboration with Future Systems).

Exhibition: "The Painter in Glass," Glyn Vivian Art Gallery,
Swansea, England (catalogue).

1993 Designed the stadia stage sets for the Paul McCartney 1993 World Tour.

Stained glass for the North wall of the EAM Building,
Kassel, Germany (architect: von Gerkan, Marg and Partners).

"The Ruins of Time," stage sets for a ballet by Wayne Eagling in tribute to
Rudolph Nuryev, Het National Ballet, Amsterdam.

Award: Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Institute of British Architects.
Exhibition: "Images of Christ," Northampton Museum and St. Paul's Cathedral,
London.

Stained glass roofs for the Spindles, Oldham, Lancashire.

"Brian Clarke, Designs on Architecture," Oldham Art Gallery,
Oldham, Lancashire, October 2 - November 9, 1993 (catalogue).

“Brian Clarke, New Paintings," The Mayor Gallery London.

Stained glass windows for the new Heidelberg Synagogue, Heidelberg, Germany.

Exhibition: "Architecture and the Sacred Space in the Modern Age -
Venice Biennale," (with architect Alfred Jacoby.)

1994 Exhibition: "Brian Clarke: Stained Glass," Tony Shafrazi Gallery,
New York, NY, December 10, 1994 - February 4, 1995.

Mosaic and stained glass windows and walls for Lowe SMS & Partners,
The Grace Building, New York, USA.

Stained glass window for Clinical Research Building and Hammersmith Hospital Cancer Centre, London.

Stained glass design for Brent Cross Shopping Centre,
London, England. Stained glass dome, design for the Frankfurter Allee Plaza, Berlin, Germany.

Stained glass cupola and mosaic ceiling for the Schadow Arkaden,
Düsseldorf, Germany.

Stained glass design for Crossrail Terminal, Paddington Station,
London (architect: Alsop & Störmer).

Designs for stained glass ceiling and mosaic floor for Friedrichstadt Passagen,
Quartier 206, Berlin (architect: I.M. Pei, Cobb, Freed and Partner).

Mosaic for W.H.Smith & Sons Ltd. Training Office,
Abingdon, Oxon, England.

Collaborative proposal, with Zaha Hadid for stained glass and mosaic at Spittelau, Vienna, Austria.

Designs for the compact disc covers of the Sir William Walton classical
music catalogue for EMI Records, London.

Designs for stained glass for the Aachen Synagogue,
Aachen, Germany.

Proposal for a glass tower at Willis Faber Building,
Ipswich, England. (Arch. Sir Norman Foster).

Professor of Architectural Art, Bartlett Institute of Architecture, University
College, London.

1995 Exhibition: Fazit ‘95 Die Sammlung des Museums für Zeitgenössische
Glasmalerei Langen.(10/03/1995 - 29/10/1995),
Altes Rathaus Langen, Germany.

Exhibition: Exempla ‘ 95, Handwerkskammer für München und Oberbayern.
11/03/95 - 19/03/95, München, Germany.
Radio feature: BBC Radio 3 “Architecture in Five Easy Pieces”.

Lecture at the National Exhibition Centre, England. 21/03/95 .
RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects),

Stained glass and mosaic ceilings for Centre NorteShopping (Completed 1996).
Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
1055 square metres of glass and 150 square metres of mosaic.

Stained glass windows for the Cistercian Abbaye de la Fille Dieu,
(Completed 1996), Romont, Switzerland.

Design for stained glass wall for the refurbishment of the entrance lobby of the
United Nations Headquarters, New York

1996 Stained glass wall / facade
Valentino Village, Noci, Bari, Italy (architects Emilio Ambasz and Angelo
Rocco Dongiovanni)

Stained glass and mosaic ceiling
Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Headquarter Building, New York, USA,
architect: Hixon Design Consultants
Design for stained glass cone
Swiss Bank Corporation, Stamford, CT, USA.

Proposal for the ceiling of the Great Auditorium
Paris Opera (Bastille).

Joint competition entry with architects Alsop & Störmer architects for
Hungerford Bridge, London, England.

Stained glass entrance
Kinderhaus, Regensburg, Germany, architects: A 2 .

1997 Design for RWE Energie AG (backlit stained glass walls)
refurbishment of headquarter lobby, Essen, Germany

Cut pile tapestry for Willis Corroon, staircase situation in company’s
headquarter building by Sir Norman Foster, Ipswich

Glass wall for the nave of the Synagogue Offenbach, refurbishment and
extension, architect: Alfred Jacoby

Designs for Shopping Center Villa Lobos (stained glass roof lights
and mosaic for facade), Saõ Paulo, Brazil, architect: Julio Neves

Stained glass for The Chicago Sinai Synagogue, architect: Dirk Lohan

Mosaic for Centre NorteShopping, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, architect: LINDI Inc.
"The Ruins of Time," new production of a stage set for ballet
by Wayne Eagling, Het National Ballet, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Designs for windows of Catholic Church (Heiliggeist-Kirche), Heidelberg, Germany

Design for Chep Lap Kok Airport, Hong Kong,
Architect: Sir Norman Foster & Partners, Hong Kong

Exhibition: Brian Clarke - Linda McCartney
30th August 1997 to 28th April 1998

Musée Suisse du Vitrail, Romont, Switzerland
Exhibition: Hand and Cell Panels for Pfizer NYC, Stadt Museum Muenchen, Germany.

1998 Fleurs de Lys, exhibition of new paintings at Faggionato Fine Arts, London
(22nd May - 19th June)

The Glass Wall, exhibition at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York
(12th June - 12th September )

Stained Glass windows for the new Catholic Church Maria Königin in
Obersalbach near Saarbrücken, Germany, architects: Alt & Britz

Brian Clarke - Linda McCartney, exhibition at the German Museum for
Stained Glass, Linnich (May - October)

80 Artistes autour du Mondial, exhibition at the Galerie Enrico Navarra, Paris
(5th June - 30th July 1998)

Design for stained glass roof and water sculptures for Neiman Marcus and Fashion Show Mall, Las Vegas, Nevada.

1999 Swiss Bank Cone, Stained glass cone made entirely of glass for new headquarters building for SBC in Stamford CT.

Design for Buckingham Arcade (Passageway from The Strand to Thames
Embankment), City of London

Stained glass art roof for Notting Hill Bus shelter, London, architect: Foster & Partners.

Design for Casa Austria, Salzburg, Austria, Stained Glass Ceiling (completed in April 1999)

2000 Fashion Acts, Exhibition and Auction of Photographs initiated to help people affected by HIV/AIDS. (Sponsored by Olympus) Mulberry, 41-42 New Bond Street, London, W1 (06/11 - 24/12).

Stained glass facade and mosaic floor for Olympus Optical Europa new HQ building, Hamburg, Germany.

Design for a hanging glass atrium sculpture, Holborn Place, London, architect: Foster & Partners.

Stained glass wall for Al-Faisliah Complex, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, architect: Foster & Partners. Project completed in April 2000.

“The Glass Wall” stained glass window installed for permanent exhibition at the Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York.

2001 Stained glass facade for Pfizer Inc, 42nd Street & 2nd Ave, New York, USA.
Design for stained glass roof Albergo Telassoterapia, Castellanata, Italy.

Design for stained glass facade for new retail unit Canary Wharf, London.

2002 Transillumination. An installation of stained glass by Brian Clarke
at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York (4th November - 13th December )

Flowers for New York. A tribute to New York in stained glass and painting on canvas. The Corning Gallery at Steuben, 667 Maddison Avenue, New York. 23rd January 2002 to 7th April 2002.

Stained glass for the hotel facade and cafe rooflight, Albergo Telassoterapia, Castellanata, Italy.

2003 Stained Glass design for south elevation facade at Ascot Racecourse

2005 Lamina. An new installation of stained glass by Brian Clarke at Gagosian Gallery, London. (Apr 29 - July 23rd)

Design for stained glass for the choir windows Linkoping Cathedral, Sweden.

2006 Stained glass apex for the Pyramid of Peace, Astana, Kazakhstan.

2008 Don't Forget The Lamb. An exhibition of stained glass, paintings and leaded
panels at Phillips de Pury, New York. (Sept 2008 - Dec 2008)

2011 Love Him More. Stained glass, paintings and works on paper. Works by Brian Clarke 1993 - 2011.
Kristy Stubbs Gallery, Dallas, Texas. (December 8th 2011 - January 12th 2012)

Atlantes and Astragals. An exhibition of paintings and stained glass.
Christie's, London. (10th - 22nd December 2011)

The Quick and the Dead. New paintings.
Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Netherlands. (28th May - 14th August 2011)

Brian Clarke, Works on paper.
Phillips de Pury & Company space at the Saatchi Gallery, London. (28th February - 27th March 2011)

EDUCATION

1974
Awarded the Winston Churchill Memorial Travelling Fellowship to
study art and architecture in Rome, Paris and Germany. Second part of this Fellowship spent in Los Angeles and New York in 1975.

1970
The North Devon College of Art and Design.
First class distinction in Diploma in Art and Design.

1968
Burnley School of Art.

1965
Began full-time art education at Oldham School of Arts and Crafts
(Junior Scholarship).

POSITIONS CURRENTLY HELD

Trustee and Council Member of Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.

Trustee and Committee member of the Robert Fraser Foundation.

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Professor of Architectural Art at University College London.

Executor of The Estate of Francis Bacon.

Trustee & Governor of Capital City Academy.

Comite d’Honneur, Fondation Vincent Van Gogh, Arles, France.

Chairman of the Architecture Foundation, London.

Lamina at Gagosian, London in 2005

Lamina was reported in the Independent Newspaper

London Project completed in November 2007

Brian Clarke's new architectural installation for Apax Partners in Jermyn Street, London was completed at the end of November 2007.

The work for their lobby includes a backlit stained glass screen and a large multi panel work on canvas.
"Hovering There", 2007, oil on canvas, 330 x 360 cm.

View into the lift lobby.

This image shows an early model visualisation.

Detail from the painting.