Time and Place

Joseph Clarke Is a Connecticut-based artist living in Litchfield County and working from his Kent studio. Clarke has been creating large colorful artworks that he describes as action sculptures. Working with house paints, epoxy resin, and canvas he sculpts high gloss, textural pieces that are reminiscent of something within the realm of finish fetish. Each work, usually monochromatic, is stretched on a handmade strainer that Clarke builds himself in his wood shop. Coming from a line of do-it-yourself builders, working with his hands comes naturally. His Grandfather Victor was an electrician, plumber, mechanic, carpenter, and antiauthoritarian. These are all attributes that were passed down to Clarke’s father Mark who additionally became an impressive boat builder, with patented designs that are still in use today. Clarke’s Grandmother Yvonne was also an artist who illustrated professionally and painted often. Joseph Graduated from the Hartford Art School in 2018 with a Bachelor's in Fine Art and immediately after started working as a studio assistant for his now ex-professor Power Boothe. This initial apprenticeship had a domino effect that landed him in many artist studios over the years, including artist Kathleen Kucka who, after founding and opening Furnace Art on Paper in Falls Village, CT, made Clarke associate director of the gallery where he works today. Being a Skateboarder, snowboarder, and artist for most of his life Clarke has never been one for following the rest of the pack, he finds joy in mapping his own path in ways that allow for more innovative and creative thinking.