Aotearoa NZ Knitting Patterns (2014) oil & 24 carat gold leaf on board, frame: 606 x 606 x 46 mm
Toy Boy (2013)
oil & 24 carat gold leaf on board, frame: 611 x 610 x 46 mm
Try (2014)
oil & 24 carat gold leaf on board, frame: 609 x 610 x 46 mm
Milk Bars Guns (2014) oil on board, frame: 608 x 608 x 46 mm
God Save the Queen !! (2014) oil on board, frame: 611 x 610 x 46 mm
7375 Things to Do (2014) oil on board, frame: 658 x 553 x 46 mm
New Zea land (2014) oil on board, frame: 610 x 609 x 46 mm
Comfortably Numb (2014) oil on board, frame: 617 x 553 x 46 mm
Big Ben (2014)
oil & 24 carat gold leaf on board, frame: 609 x 610 x 46 mm
Just Do It Yourself (2014)
& 24 carat gold leaf on board, frame: 610 x 610 x 46 mm
Day Tripper 2 (2014)
oil & 24 carat gold leaf on board, frame: 610 x 613 x 46 mm
It’s a Green Party (2014) oil & 24 carat gold leaf on board, frame: 653 x 558 x 46 mm
“I have been investigating patterns of language, in particular the language of advertising and the language of politics. I have been investigating patterns of gendered codes of behaviour and patterns of ideological systems of belief and patterns of everyday, lived cultural practices related to leisure, work, food and fashion. Through this exploration I am attempting to knit these patterns together to create a deeper understanding of history and of a sense of place.” (1)
Knitting Patterns re-imagines modern-day nostalgia for the New Zealand of the 1950s and 60s. Referencing illustrative techniques from this period, Simon Clark questions if this yearning for the ‘golden weather’ of times gone by might not be misplaced as he plays with cultural constructions and the framing of what ‘Kiwi’ is.
Working from the maxim, ‘more is more’, Clark’s works demand immediate attention; gold leaf, optical patterning, repeated motifs, and high-contrast colours are all designed to attract the gaze. As the gaze lingers however, the subtle detailing and surface treatments tell more of the stories in which Clark is interested. As he layers images and composes space, he likewise layers ideas and composes his own historical constructs.
Big Ben, the face of a pie brand, is set against a background of gold and cobaltblue more commonly associated with illuminated manuscripts. Upon closer inspection, the gold looks a little battered, and the background worn and scratched: Clark deliberately ‘removes the gloss’ from his paintings, giving them a sense of time’s passing and untold histories. New Zea Land presents a blonde-haired, blue-eyed ‘Maori doll’, complete with piupiu, woven bodice, and tiara. Does the parade of moa circling her suggest this form of cultural appropriation should be as extinct as the bird?
Simon Clark has produced a series of works that seem strangely familiar. At a time when stylised tiki, retro advertisements and Crown Lynn swans adorn all manner of products in every design store, Clark queries the rose-tinted glasses through which this is viewed and asks how much are we buying into a history that never existed?
1. Simon Clark, Artist’s statement, June, 2014
SIMON CLARK
b. 1955, lives Auckland
"The past, which these paintings draw upon, is the past located around the early 1960s which is the period of my childhood living in New Zealand. The early 1960s is a period, which is being represented today under the connoted structure of “Kiwiana”." (1)
"I am interested to understand the effects of the Kiwiana structure upon the culture. I am questioning why it has been so widely discussed and just why it has emerged. I am also interested to explore who is governed by the Kiwiana discourse. Who does it include? Who benefits from it? Who does it exclude? Who loses out?" (2)
"His worlds shift between the practices of design - media culture and fine arts and these interests influence his concerns as a painter." (3)
Simon Clark currently works as a lecturer in Design at AUT University. He has been painting since the 1980's and has exhibited throughout New Zealand. He has been a finalist in a number of awards including the Wallace Trust Art Awards and in 1992 he won the Auckland Savings Bank Award to visit the Swire School of Design, Hong Kong Polytechnic.
1.SimonClark,ArtistStatement,2009
2.SimonClark,AritstStatement,2005
3.SimonClark,AUTProfile,2010
New Zea land (2014)
EDUCATION
SIMON CLARK
b. 1955, lives Auckland
Master Fine Arts (First Class Hons), University of Auckland
Certificate Graphic Design, Auckland Technical Institute
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2014 Knitting Patterns, Milford Galleries Dunedin
2010 A New Coat of Paint, Milford Galleries Dunedin
2002 Happiland, Grantham Gallery, Auckland
1996 Fence, Auckland Society of Arts, Auckland
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2013 Small Works, Milford Galleries Dunedin
2012 The Surreal, Milford Galleries Dunedin
2009 Journeys, MG, Auckland
2006 Essence, milford galleries auckland Object, Milford Galleries Dunedin
2005-06 Wallace Trust Art Award, Pataka, Wellington
2005 Wallace Trust Art Award, CoCA, Christchurch Group Show, Matakana Warkworth Gallery, Auckland
2003 Summer Hanging, Grantham Gallery, Auckland
2002 Happiland, Grantham Gallery, Auckland
2002 Artists’ Choice, Mt Eden Gallery, Auckland
2001 Masters Exhibition, Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland
2001 Provenance, George Fraser Gallery, University of Auckland
2000 Masters Exhibition, Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland
2000 Kare Kare, Lopdell House Gallery, Auckland
2000 Summer Hanging, Chiaroscuro Gallery, Auckland
1999 Nobby Clark: Simon Clark, Auckland Society of Arts, Auckland
1995 Staff from the School of Art and Design, Morgan Street Gallery, Auckland
1994 Staff from the School of Art and Design, Morgan Street Gallery, Auckland
1994 Gallery 1, Auckland Society of Arts
1991 Staff from the School of Art and Design, Russian Gallery, Auckland
1989 Beecham Laboratory Art Award, Auckland Society of Arts Gallery, Auckland
1988 Beecham Laboratory Art Awards, Auckland Society of Arts Gallery, Auckland
AWARDS & FELLOWSHIPS
2005 Finalist Wallace Trust Art Awards
1999 Finalist Wallace Trust Art Awards
1992 Auckland Savings Bank Award to visit the Swire School of Design, Hong Kong Polytechnic, Hong Kong, to study Tertiary Art and Design Management
1990 Bronze Medal for services toward the design of the 1990 New Zealand Commonwealth Games
1989 Winning Entry Beecham Research Laboratory Art Award (National)
1988 Highly Commended Beecham Research Laboratory Art Award (National)
1983 Album Cover of the Year Award, The New Zealand Music Awards
