Jon Clarke is a teacher and ceramic artist residing in the Manawatu, New Zealand. His work sits uncomfortably outside any real classification other than it tends to dwell on the darker side of the human psyche. He seeks to express the contradictions, pain and hypocrisy that will seemingly lead to humanities downfall yet with typical irony do so by creating objects rich in aesthetic pleasure. He works primarily in porcelain, drawn by its purity and fragility, but also experiments with all manner of materials to discover alternative approaches, new directions. His work can be found in very few places and is not widely collected outside a small sphere of people with impeccable taste.
You can follow his progress on Facebook @ Works of Awkwardness or at this web site.
Works of Awkwardness
derives from a quote by photographer Dianne Arbus
"I work from awkwardness. By that I mean I don't like to arrange things. If I stand in front of something, instead of arranging it, I arrange myself."
None of the work tries to beautify or clarify, it is made from a recognition that the human condition is a struggle, it is often ugly and damaged, humans are weak, pathetic and destined toward their own destruction. Yet simultaneously are magnificently beautiful, complex and gracious creatures bound together by a web of contradictions.
Curriculum Vitae (Or 10 things it doesn't matter if you know about me)
- If I can create something that aesthetically satifies me I am content.
- If another person finds comfort in my work, awesome.
- If the world continues to not give a damn about either me or my work, so be it.
- When an arm breaks off, the dog gets sick or it rains for 3 weeks I get grumpy.
- Lots of qualifications.
- Featured in the occasional exhibition.
- Regularly shortlisted for things that I am unlikely to ever win.
- A magnificent family.
- A dry sense of humour that most people interpret badly.
- Best not taken too seriously.