Geoffrey Clarke R.A. (British 1924-2014) §
Symbol for Man VIII, 1951-54
£3,780
Auction: 28 April 2023 at 11:00 BST
Description
signed and dated (on underside of base), iron on aluminium base
Dimensions
27cm high, 15cm wide, 12cm deep (10 1/2in high, 6in wide, 4 1/2in deep)
Provenance
Provenance
Private Collection, UK.
Footnote
Exhibited
Gimpel Fils, London, Recent Sculpture, Drawings and Engravings by Geoffrey Clarke; Collages by Austin Cooper, January 1955;
The Redfern Gallery, London, Geoffrey Clarke: Recent Sculptures 1965, March - April 1965, no. 43;
Taranman Gallery, London, Geoffrey Clarke, June - July 1976, no. 40;
Fine Art Society, London, Geoffrey Clarke: Sculpture, Constructions and Works on Paper, 1949-2000, October - November 2000, no. 9, p. 19, illustrated;
Strand Gallery, Aldeburgh, Geoffrey Clarke RA: Monotypes, Early Sculptures and Prints, April - May 2003.
Literature
LeGrove, Judith, Geoffrey Clark Sculptor: Catalogue Raisonné, London: Pangolin & Lund Humpries, 2017, p. 47, cat. no. S110, illustrated.
This work also has variant titles of Man, Man as a Fortress and Maquette. As Peter Black has written: 'Clarke uses allegory and symbol; he is interested not in the historical moment but in permanent truths about Man. His Man figure [including in Symbol for Man VIII]...who appears first in the aquatints, and was developed in iron sculptures made 1950-4, is conceived as a monument. He is sometimes tree- and plant-like. In other incarnations he resembles a man-made structure such as a giant crane...In others again 'Man' becomes fortress-like; static and enduring, but sentient and spiritual.' (Peter Black, 'Introduction', Geoffrey Clarke: Sculpture, Constructions and Works on Paper 1949-2000, London, 2000, p. 8.)
Innovative sculptor Geoffrey Clarke (1924 – 2014) experimented readily with materials throughout his lifetime, moving away from a figurative focus which for many years dictated his study to a more abstract direction. His fearless experiments and bold sculptures epitomised the vivacity of the post-war art scene in Britain. A graduate of London’s Royal College of Art, Clarke was acknowledged as one of the few British sculptors who actively encouraged the practice of cooperation and synergy between sculptors and architects. Characteristically monumental and large in scale, his output notably included the combined use of aluminium, stained glass, mosaic and enamel.
Taking advantage of the post-war architectural boom, Clarke was known in his early years for his iron, wire and plaster works. One of the first artists to use welding in his sculptures, Clarke experimented readily with processes, trialling different modes of making which were both more cost and time effective. Often building an initial ‘skeleton’ in his sculptures, his process was undeniably influenced by anthropomorphism. Reducing the human figure to a curvilinear sculpture in his work, this technique remained in line with the rise of sculptors looking to develop a more meaningful sculptural language.
In 1952, Clarke’s fame was cemented when he was selected by the Arts Council for the inclusion in the landmark exhibition of British sculpture at the Venice Biennale. Attaining several subsequent awards in the years which followed, Clarke rapidly became one of the most frequently commissioned architectural sculptors of the mid-twentieth century. A notable public commission being his work on the windows of Coventry Cathedral, which showcased his stained-glass abilities.