In May 2011, Brian Clarke responded to the Gemeentemuseum’s Projects Gallery’s request to produce artworks that responded to its architectural space. For this exhibition, titled Brian Clarke: The Quick and The Dead, the artist created an installation composed of large-scale paintings, including three triptychs. The paintings are partly inspired by Monet’s water lily paintings.

Brian Clarke: The Quick and The Dead was the first exhibition in the Netherlands ever to feature Clarke’s paintings.

The Kunstmuseum Den Haag stated:

‘Working on a dark background, Clarke used a white oil stick to draw a series of identical motifs – outlines of Porsches, Spitfires or fleurs-de-lis – forming a continuous strip across the entire breadth of the canvas. Under this strip, he has painted abstract planes of colour, the edges of which are entirely separate from the motifs: the paint never touches the outline. As in his stained glass windows, he is attentive to the space between the various colour planes. The dark backgrounds of his paintings are likewise reminiscent of those in his works in glass. The light-absorbing black makes the colours appear all the more vivid.’