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The 'C' Collages
The 'C' Collages
1990
The ‘C’ Collages is a 1990 series of mixed-media works on paper by Brian Clarke. The works in the series are unified by the recurring motif of the grid, an element that became central to Clarke’s practice throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The collages also incorporate fragments of line drawings, newsprint, painted cut-outs, torn paper and other elements layered over or placed in contrast with the regular grid. Two works include a pair of 18th century Indian miniatures from the collection of Clarke's art dealer, Robert Fraser.
In 2019, Clarke explained his fascination with the grid and the tension between order and disorder in his work:
"Grids have always been a source of pleasure for me, probably because they deliver a reliable basis for art to challenge the idea of the constant. If you begin with order, disruption or even chaos will inevitably follow."
This series was exhibited in two parts: in 1990 in the exhibition Into and Out of Architecture at The Mayor Gallery, London, and between 1990 and 1991 in Brian Clarke: Architecture and Stained Glass at the Sezon Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.