Between 1980 and 1983, Brian Clarke expanded his exploration of the computergram motifs in his Constructions series, a group of wooden compositions created for the Living City exhibition organised by the East Midlands Arts Association. Produced in collaboration with the furniture maker Malcolm Nix, the works translate Clarke’s signature computergram symbols into wooden blocks, which he termed ‘reticules’. These individually fabricated elements were cut into the surface of wooden panels and finished with a highly polished acrylic paint.

This series forms part of Clarke’s wider engagement with geometric abstraction during the early 1980s, a period in which he frequently employed repeated geometric forms across large-scale compositions, as seen in his Computergram Paintings series. This phase of work was informed by contemporary technology and music, drawing inspiration from sources ranging from the light-metering displays of Olympus OM System cameras to the structured electronic soundscapes of artists such as Kraftwerk and Brian Eno.

Clarke’s experimentation with wood in collaboration with Malcolm Nix also extended into furniture design. In 1982, Clarke produced his Early Furniture series, applying the computergram motifs from his Constructions series to functional objects.