Peter Clarke
(1929 – 2014)
“The child in me has accompanied the adult that I am into old age. So, as far as I am concerned, it is essential to be honest and to be irreverent at times and to have a sense of humour as well.” Peter Clarke
Born in Simonstown 1929, Peter Clarke was the third of six children and from an early age showed an active interest in drawing. This was eagerly pursued by studying under John Coplans in the District Six art Group between 1947 and 1948, followed in 1961 by just a few months at the Michaelis School of Art under Katrine Harries and Maurice van Essche before leaving to become a dock worker. Clarke’s established artistic motivation was already fundamental in his outlook of life, which has been translated across many mediums as a result. These outlets range from drawing, painting, artist’s books, collage and graphic works, but also extend to an immensely accomplished and untaught literary background that has spanned across his long and affluent career.
It was in 1956 that Clarke made the vital decision to return full-time to art and writing, immediately finding interest in his graphic works, setting the precedence for the works of art that he would best become known for over the many decades, receiving the Drum International Short Story Award in 1955 followed by further international acclaim.
The charismatically magnetic imagery that he created shows a defined interest in coloured identity and political commentary in a structured form of narrative, coherent with his dual interest in both writing and in imagery. Clarke’s works are imbedded with a sense of satirical humour that gives each and every one of his pieces a textural depth and palimpsestic narrative; individual and intriguing.
Clarke moves freely between each of his mediums, including writing, using whichever is most appropriate to his idea, sometimes with a result of combining them. His earliest influences include the works of Mexican artists between the 1930 and 50s and also German Expressionism. The art of Japanese Prints has also been an influence in Clarke’s work across his career. Growing up and living through a difficult time in South African history, the effects are inextricable from Clarke’s works, yet his reaction in this can be described as observational, commenting more on everyday life rather than being actively political. His views have been unremittingly positive in regard to the change from Apartheid to a democracy within the art environment. Consequently his works have shown progressive characteristics that not only mark points of his life, but also do so historically.
Peter Clarke’s life and work shows an enthusiastic and intelligent commitment that is reflected in the undeniable local and international commendation that has been received. Making the best of the limited working space in his home where he produces most of works, over the entirety of his career Clarke has produced an enormous portfolio which is shown across the world. His background, development as an artist and characteristically incisive scope of work has positioned him as one of South Africa’s most interesting and significant artists both past and present. Peter Clarke passed away at the age of 85 in the peace of his Ocean View home, where he had lived and worked in the heart of a community to whom he was a mentor, role-model and larger-than-life figure for so many years.
1947
Night classes at St. Philips School with the District Six Art Group under John Coplans
1948
Technical College, Roeland Street, Cape Town
1947 – 1952
Member of various informal art groups in Cape Town
1959
Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town
1959 – 1963
Rijks Academie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
1976
Atelier Nord, Oslo, Norway
1951
Participated in various group exhibitions held across South Africa, Yugoslavia, West Germany, Brazil, Austria, Italy, Holland, Belgium, America, Argentina, Norway, Botswana, Japan, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom
1957
First solo exhibition, Golden City Post, Cape Town
1960
South African Graphic Art Exhibition, Yugoslavia
1961
South African Graphic Art Exhibition, Galerie Schoninger, Munich, West Germany
São Paulo Biennial
1963
5thInternational Graphic Art Biennale, Ljubljana, Yugoslavia; Albertina Museum, Vienna, Austria
1964
Venice Biennale, Italy
1965
Solo exhibition, Mbari Cultural Centre, Ibadan, Nigeria
Solo exhibition, Chem-Chemi Cultural Centre, Nairobi, Kenya
6thInternational Graphic Art Biennale, Ljubljana, Yugoslavia
1968
First International Graphic Exhibition, Palazzo Strozzo, Florence, Italy
1969
Second International Graphic Exhibition, Palazzo Strozzo, Florence, Italy
1970
Solo exhibition, Edrich Gallery, Stellenbosch
1971
South African Graphic Art Exhibition, touring The Netherlands, Belgium and West Germany
1972
Tercera Bienal Internacional del Grabado, Buenos Aires, Argentina
1973
Solo exhibition, Shell Harbour Art Centre, Shell Harbour, NSW, Australia
Group exhibition, Pratt Graphics Centre, New York, USA
1973 – 1974
Solo exhibition, Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee
1976
Solo exhibition, Kuumba Workshop, Southside, Chicago, USA
1977 – 1978
Solo exhibition ‘Our World is a Ghetto’, South African Association of Arts, Cape Town
Solo exhibition, Community Art Project, Mowbray, Cape Town
Solo exhibition, Public Library, Grassy Park, Cape Town
1979
Pratt Institute, New York, USA
1979 – 1982
Group exhibition, Graphic Art, Atelier Nord, Oslo, Norway
1981
Solo exhibition ‘Illusions and Other Realities’, Atlantic Art Gallery, Cape Town
1982
Exhibition of South African Art, National Gallery, Gaborone, Botswana
1983
International Exhibition of Prints, Kanagawa, Japan
1984
Exhibition of Masterworks on Paper, South African National Gallery
International Exhibition of Prints, Kanagawa, Japan
Exhibition at Jerusalem Artists’ House, Israel
Norwegian International Print Biennale, Frederikstad, Norway
1985
Group exhibition,‘FUBA: A Selection of Work by Distinguished Black Artists’,Grenchen, Switzerland (Internationale Triennale Fur Originale Graphik)
1987
Solo exhibition, Chelsea Gallery, Wynberg, Cape Town
Bienal Internacional de Gravura, Campinas, Brazil
Exhibition at Museum fur Volkerkunde, Frankfurt, W. Germany
1990
Group exhibition, ‘Freedom Now’, Namibian Independence Exhibition, Windhoek, Namibia
1992
Retrospective exhibition ‘The Hand is the Tool of the Soul’, IZIKO South African National Galleries/Natale Labia Museum, Cape Town
1994
3rdTriennial International Exhibition of Prints, Auvergne, France
1995
18th Triennial World Exhibition of Prints, Kanagawa, Japan
1996
Drawings of Tesselaarsdal, Caledon Museum
1998
Solo exhibition ‘Vital Expressions’, Association of Arts Gallery, Cape Town
1999
Solo exhibition ‘A Personal View’, Lipschitz Gallery, Cape Town
Solo Exhibition ‘Vital Expressions’, Natal Technikon Art Gallery, Durban
2000
Exhibition at Bertolt Brecht House, Berlin, German
2000 – 2001
City Press Exhibition ‘Baggage’
Participated in Manuscript Exhibition 3 (Art Studio), Johannesburg
2001
Solo exhibition, Exeter, United Kingdom
2002
Collection of Books Exhibited at Natal Technikon, Kwa Zulu Natal
2003
Exhibited in AVA ‘Surface=/=Print’, Cape Town as part of Impact Conference
2011
Retrospective exhibitionListening to Distant Thunder: The Art of Peter Clarke,Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg (4 May to 2 July 2011)
2013
Group exhibition, “Portrait de l’Afrique du Sud: An exhibition of artworks by George Hallett, Peter Clarke and Gerard Sekoto”, Paris, France (30 October – 27 November
Public Collections – International
- Baerum Kommune, Sandvika, Norway
- Dennis W. Koles, Kiama, NSW, Australia
- Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Johnson Publishing Co., Chicago, USA
- Kunsthalle Museen der Stadt Bielefeld, Germany
- Library of Congress, Washington D.C., USA
- Museum of Contemporary Art, Skopje, Yugoslavia
- Museum of African American Art, LA, USA
- National Museum and Art Gallery, Gaborone, Botswana,
- Stichting Afrika Museum, Berg en Dal, Holland
Public Collections – South Africa
- Cape Town City Library, Cape Town
- Community Arts Project
- Municipal Collection, Fish Hoek, Cape Town
Corporate Collections – South Africa
- Fuba Collection, Johannesburg
- PAM; Nasou Publishing Co, Cape Town
- Sasol Collection, Stellenbosch
- SA Fine Worsted Co, Cape Town
- Pentech, Bellville, Cape Town
Galleries & Museums
- Arnold Becher Museum,
- Caledon Municipal Museum, Caledon
- District Six Museum, Cape Town
- Durban Art Museum, Durban
- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum, Port Elizabeth
- Municipal Museum, Simon’s Town
- Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria
- South African National Gallery; University of Fort Hare, Alice
- William Humphreys Art Gallery, Kimberley, SA
- IZIKO South African National Gallery, Cape Town
Universities
- Livingstone High School, Claremont
- North-West University, North-West
- University of Stellenbosch, Western Province
- University of the Western Cape, Western Province
- University of Zululand, Kwa-Zulu Natal
- Durban University of Technology, Kwa-Zulu Natal
- University of South Africa, Pretoria
Private Collections
- Hymie and Jean Berndt, Kenilworth, Western Cape
- Bruce Campbell Smith Collection
1975
Honorary Fellow in Writing, University of Iowa, USA
1982
Diploma of Merit in Art, Academia Italia
1982
Honorary Doctor of Literature, World Academy of Arts and Culture, Taipei, Taiwan
1983
Honorary Member of the Museum of African American Art, Los Angeles, USA
2000
Awarded the Molteno Award for services to the visual arts by the Cape Tercentenary Foundation
2005
Awarded the Order of Ikhamga (Silver) by President Thabo Mbeki
2010
Awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arts and Culture Trust
