ARTIST BIOGRAPHY |
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Wilhelm DeKooning would be vehemently scandalized a couple years later for painting realistic subject matter, while the use of the palette knife would become the norm in artistic circles. Clark applied to the distinguished Barnes Foundation in Merion, Pennsylvania in 1938, but missed his appointment. He reapplied and was accepted in 1939. |
In contrast, Vase, 1946, a still life of vibrant colors, reminds us of the sheer "Market Place (Virgin Isles), 1946", Oil on Canvas 24"x 20” pleasure that a vase of flowers can give. Its sensuous textures emphasized by the palette knife make the flowers pulsate with energy. The color harmonies within the composition add a subtle touch to the luscious paint textures. In the 1950s and 1960s Clark's themes changed due to his travels abroad to Africa and the Caribbean. In Street Scene, 1954, Clark examines the sense of loneliness and abandonment that prevails in urban areas. The abandoned building is reminiscent of William H. Johnson's Jacobia Hotel, 1930, with its expressive character and movement. The atmosphere also relates the sense of alienation and abandonment in the work of Edward Hopper. |
As early as the 1940's, Art News recognized his rare artistic ability: "Claude Clark (Roko: to March 31, 1947) ... presents ... an art in which strong feelings are translated into paint. Forceful army scenes, figure studies...and powerful landscapes reveal Clark's concern with human and psychological values. Brilliant color harmonies and a moving sense of design contribute to their achievement. The flower paintings show his feeling for color at its purest…” In the 1940s, Clark became interested in working in a black college. After writing many letters of employment, he received offers from two: Jackson State University in Mississippi and Talladega College in Alabama. Jackson State offered the higher salary, but he chose Talladega because it provided housing, which he desperately needed for his family. Originally, he went to Talladega in 1948 to do a workshop. However, many of his students, who were war veterans requested art training. Due to an increased student demand, he established a full time art department. Determined to educate his students in their own cultural history, Clark exposed his students to African and African American art. In 1950, he won a Carnegie Fellowship, which allowed him to spend the summer in the Caribbean, mainly Puerto Rico, painting still lifes and landscapes. In 1955, at the end of the spring term., Clark left Talladega. Without another employment engagement, he moved with his family to California. More importantly, he was urged to do so by Mrs. Clark; she recalled, "I could see that we could not send our two kids to college if he stayed in Talladega. I couldn't find a job in Talladega." Mrs. Clark had a Master's of Philosophy degree from Howard University and had studied under Alain Locke. She could not obtain a job at the college nor in the public school system. The move became a career and economic necessity for both of them. Subsequently, in the fall of 1955, he registered at Sacramento State University and received his undergraduate degree in 1958. He moved to Oakland California in 1959 and attended the University of California at Berkeley. Majoring in painting with a minor in social studies, he obtained his Masters of Arts degree in 1962. Meanwhile, Mrs. Clark managed to obtain two additional degrees at the Pacific School of Religion at Berkley. One was a Master's of Theology and the other, a Master's in Religious Education. During this period Clark's color palette lightened and his technique became freer with such works as Homestretch, 1961 and Ascending 1961. Market Place (Virgin Isles), 1961 also shows the lighter color palette and his continued interest in abstraction. Clark found employment at Oakland's Merritt College in 1968 and stayed until his retirement in 1981. In 1969 Clark wrote "A Black Art Perspective: A Black Teacher's Guide to a Black Visual Arts Curriculum." Clark has exhibited with many famous African American artists such as Henry O. Tanner, Romare Bearden, Richmond Barthe, William H. Johnson, Aaron Douglas, Charles White, Ellis Wilson and Jacob Lawrence. Additional exhibits have been held in Paris, Puerto Rico, Mexico and throughout the United States. In addition, to private collections, his works can be found in public and museum collections, including the Smithsonian Institute, National Gallery of Art, Talladega College, Fisk University, Atlanta University, Hampton University, DuSable Museum, Chicago; Oakland Museum, Oakland; Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco; the Library of Congress and Bill Cosby purchased a painting entitled My Church as a gift to Reverend Jesse Jackson. Claude Clark died April 21, 2001 leaving behind a void in the African American art community. Mrs. Clark talked about his sense of humanity in his art and life. "I felt that he was a very generous man with his art and his knowledge. He didn't have any working hours because he was always working...sometimes to his own detriment. I consider him one of America's greatest colorist. He ground his own paint, you know..." Clark's brilliant work has secured him a position within the history of art. An innovator, an educator, and an icon of the first caliber he has woven a tapestry that is rich with the extraordinary design of our lives. Within its pattern, we danced the jitterbug, we laughed, we cried, we played and listened to jazz music, we remembered the southern folk tradition. We knew that we were connected to others in Africa and the Caribbean; we sensed it in his wonderful paintings. A transplanted Southerner living in California, he maintained his "southern ethos" in the midst of urban life
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