Bilobia Head 2 (detail), copper, 2.5m high
Karpos group, copper, 2.5m high
Copper spirits, copper, 2.2m high
Peter Clarke
A graduate of Camberwell College of Art and Design, sculptor Peter Clarke is based on a farm in Kent where he works mainly in copper and steel, occasionally combined with stained glass or wood. He is inspired by nature, the earth, the cosmos and the spirit, and he uses elements of these for symbolism, form and texture. He has exhibited widely in galleries and sculpture gardens throughout the UK, including the Quenington Sculpture Show, Gloucestershire; Hannah Peschar Sculpture Garden and Gallery, Ockley, Surrey; The Sculpture Show, Mottram Hall, Cheshire; Maureen Michaelson's Summer Exhibition, Hampstead; Sir Harold Hillier Gardens and Aboretum, Hampshire; Burghley Sculpture Trail, Stamford; and Artparks International, Sausmarez Manor, Guernsey. His work has been purchased by collectors as far afield as New Zealand and the US, and has been featured on television in Gardeners World, Carlton Country and Artworks, and in the press including The Financial Times, Country Life and The Sunday Express. His major commissions have included a millennium sculpture for St Peter's School, London and a group of organic sculptures for The Royal Brompton Hospital Sensory Garden, Fulham Wing.
The works in this exhibition are from my Organic Forms Series, comprising imaginative, futuristic copper heads on spiralling copper stems. They are inspired by nature, and many of the textures that I introduce into this work are derived from organic surfaces of stem, leaf or bark.
For me, the appeal of copper is its sensitivity to the texturing process. Each piece is unique because it evolves as I work. Starting with a design in my head, I draw the shape on to copper sheet, cut it out and heat it to make it malleable before hammering it into shape. In contact with the elements, the metal will eventually turn green, and while I leave some of my pieces in their natural copper state, I like to apply a verdigris patina to other works to hasten the greening process.
My Organic Forms can be sited in soil or in water, where the fine balance incorporated in the design allows for gentle movement in the wind.
Peter M Clarke, 2006