The 2011 exhibition Brian Clarke: Works on Paper 1969–2011 held at Phillips de Pury, Saatchi Gallery, London, and curated by Bettina von Hase, was dedicated to the artist’s drawings, paintings, collages and prints on paper. As Clarke said, ‘I’ve been waiting all my life for my line to express who I really am inside, deep down, honestly.'

The press release for the exhibition writes:

‘In Clarke’s work, drawing is as relevant as other media. The drawings, grids and other collages exude a distilled, authentic atmosphere, at once completely fresh but with the patina of their own time. They divide into two broadly chronological parts. The first is retrospective, the second recent where some works, the rose windows on black paper, the gothic Literature Windows, the Spitfires, and Porsche cars drawings, were made especially for this show. There are gaps in the chronology, as a fire destroyed a large number of works in the late 80s, and in the 90s, Clarke focused more on tearing sections from new drawings, using fragments of lines that excited him, in a deliberate move away from figuration.’