Artist Talk with Ann Clarke: A Life in Motion

In honour of her recent exhibition at Agnes, A Life in Motion, watch and listen as painter Ann Clarke wends her way through her impressive career. From London to Edmonton, Halifax, Toronto, Tamworth, Thunder Bay, Newburgh and now Kingston, Clarke has pursued painting at every turn for six decades. As an artist and a teacher committed to her practice, Clarke brings deep understanding to how paint moves, how it carries colour and how it affects us as viewers. Whether pure abstraction or abstracted imagery, her approach continually distills materiality and perception in vibrant movement.

biography

Born in Britain, Ann Clarke received her art education at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College, London University, graduating in 1966 with the Painting Prize. She came to Canada in 1968, becoming a Canadian citizen in 1973. She has lived in Alberta, Ontario and Newfoundland. During 1969–1979, she was known as Ann Clarke Darrah. Clarke has taught at many institutions in Canada, including the Banff Centre, University of Alberta, University of Saskatchewan, Red Deer College, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and Queen’s and Guelph Universities. From 1992 she taught in the Department of Visual Arts at Lakehead University, retiring in 2009 as Professor Emerita. In 2008 Clarke was elected to membership of the Royal Canadian Academy of Art. Since 1969 Clarke has had over forty solo exhibitions in Canada and since 1966 has shown work in more than ninety group shows in Britain, Canada and the United States. Her work is in public and private collections in Canada, Britain, the United States and Australia.