Graham Clucas
Artist’s Statement: Graham Clucas
I am now in my eighty-first year and still wondering what I am and what I am doing here. It’s the age-old question. ‘Why is there something rather than nothing?’. Although I wouldn’t expect to find an answer, and would prefer not to, my life has been enriched by the ideas of those (from Spinoza to Zen monks) who have thought deeply about this question, and about how we should spend our time here.
I am particularly drawn to the things we cannot know and the questions that can’t be answered. Silence, where there are no questions or answers, has been a good starting point. My current painting continues to draw on my years of teaching and doctoral research on ‘Painting Silence’, which explores how the practices of silent painting that developed from Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism grapple visually with the fundamental questions of existence.
Time is another enriching mystery which plays an important role in my work and in my practice as a painter. Like St Augustine, ‘Provided that no one asks me what it is, I know. If I want to explain it to an inquirer, I do not know.’ Painting is an apposite medium in which to explore these questions which language struggles to answer. The experience of time, as mindfully observed in the act of painting and of viewing a painting, is another aspect of existence which I hope my work might bring into clearer focus for those who look at it.
The act of painting is not just about creating an external object, but also, in the words of Herbert Read, of vitally reorganising the balance of impulses within oneself. It is a transformative act, which can lead people to a fuller understanding of themselves and their surroundings. With increasing age, the act of painting as a reorganisation of impulses, ideas and responses to unanswerable questions, becomes more and more important to me. I aim to create work which engages the viewer in the transformative experience of confronting the silent, unanswerable questions that surround us with wonder, if we only turn our attention to them.
BIOGRAPHY
Born in Preston, Lancashire
Lives and works in Nancledra, Cornwall
EDUCATION
PhD Painting Silence, University of Plymouth.
B.A. Open University.
A.T.C. University of London, Goldsmiths’ College, School of Art.
N.D.D. Painting (and Lithography), Harris College of Art, Preston.
EMPLOYMENT
1967-1972 University of London, Goldsmiths’ College, School of Art. (Part-Time Lecturer)
1972-1985 Exeter College of Art and Design. (Full-Time/Senior Lecturer).
1985-2007 University of Plymouth. (Senior Lecturer), 1985-2007
COLLECTIONS / AWARDS
Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Devon County Council.
Londonderry City Council.
The Tresco Estate.
Winner of Exeter Phoenix Award for a Devon Based Artist, Exeter Contemporary Open 2007, Phoenix Arts Centre, Exeter.
Westward TV Open Art Competition 1977, Truro, (Commendation: Painting Section).
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2003 Graham Clucas: New Paintings, Fishwick Gallery, University of Plymouth, Faculty of Arts and Education, Exeter.
2002 Graham Clucas: PhD Submission, first exhibition of paintings from 1994-2002, Fishwick Gallery, University of Plymouth, Faculty of Arts, Exeter.
1994 Graham Clucas, Paintings and Prints, Brewhouse Theatre and Arts .
1993 Graham Clucas, New Works, Coombe Street Gallery, Exeter.
1990 Graham Clucas: Paintings and Lithographs, Lancashire Polytechnic, Preston.
1982 Building Sites - Paintings and Lithographs, Exe Gallery, Exeter.
1972 Graham Clucas: Screenprints and Lithographs, Exe Gallery, Exeter.
1971 Graham Clucas: Prints, Second Season, Fifth exhibition, July 31 – August 22, Serpentine Gallery, London.
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2018 NSA On View, Newlyn Society of Artists, Tremenheere Gallery, Penzance.
2018 Drawing Explored, Newlyn Society of Artists, Tremenheere Gallery, Penzance.
2017 Critic's Choice, Newlyn Society of Artists, Tremenheere Gallery, Penzance.
2017 Borders, Newlyn Society of Artists, Tremenheere Gallery, Penzance.
2011 Fishwick and Friends, Falmouth Art Gallery, Falmouth, Cornwall.
2009 Structure:Time, Picturehouse, Exeter.
2008 Muse, Edgar Modern Gallery, Bath.
2008 Affordable Art Fair, (Edgar Modern), Amsterdam.
2007 Exeter Contemporary Open, Exeter Phoenix, Exeter.
2006 Full Spectrum: Colour + Chemistry, Sherborne House, Sherborne, Dorset.
2001-2 21st Mini Print International, Taller Galeria Fort, Cadaques, Spain; touring to Wingfield Arts and Music Festival, England; Galerie L’Etang d’Art, Bages, France.
2001 Relative Unfoldings, Cultural Centre, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.
2000 20th Mini Print International,Taller Galeria Fort, Cadaques, to Wingfield Arts and Music Festival, England; Canet de Mar, Barcelona ; Galerie L’Etang d’Art, Bages, France.
2000-2 Relativities: 4th International Miniature Print Exhibition, Bankside Gallery, London; touring to The City Gallery, Leicester; Aberystwyth Arts Centre; St Barbe Museum, Lymington; Inverness Museum and Art Gallery; Oriel Myrddin, Carmarthen; Loughborough University School of Art and Design; Gracefield Arts Centre, Dumfries; Bonhoga Gallery, Weisdale, Shetland; Beldam Gallery, Brunel University; Falmouth Art Gallery; Off-Centre Gallery Bristol; Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery; Beverly Art Gallery, Beverley.
1999 On and Off the Wall, Art Haven, Exeter.
1999 Traces, Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Honiton.
1998 Second International Triennial of Graphic Arts, Sofia, Bulgaria.
1995 Spacex Gallery, Exeter.
1992 Prints by Invitation, Brewhouse Theatre and Arts Centre, Taunton.
1991 New Art in Exeter, Harlequin Centre, Exeter.
1991 The Printed Article, Exeter Printmakers, Spacex Gallery, Exeter.
1991 Exeter Arts Centre.
1990 Art and Architecture, King’s Wharf, The Quay, Exeter.
1990 New Art in Exeter, Spacex Gallery, Exeter.
1990 Abstract 90, Cleveland Bridge Gallery, Bath.
1990 The Fine Art of Surfacing, Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Bovey Tracey.
1990 Staff Exhibition: Polytechnic South West, Faculty of Arts and Design, Exeter, Taunton, Gwent, Cheltenham.
1989-90 Painterly Prints, Organised by Off-Centre Gallery, Bristol. Work exhibited at the 3-D Gallery, Bristol, touring to Worcester City Art Galleries, Cheltenham Art College, Ibstock Brickwork Design Centre, Bristol, and Caldicot Castle, Gwent.
1989 New Art in Exeter, Spacex Gallery, Exeter.
1988 Eighth Annual Brewhouse Open, Taunton.
1988 New Art in Exeter, Spacex Gallery, Exeter.
1987 Seventh Annual Brewhouse Open, Taunton.
1986 Sixth Annual Brewhouse Open, Taunton.
1985 Fifth Annual Brewhouse Open. Taunton.
1985 Spacex Artists, Spacex Gallery, Exeter.
1985 Prints and Printmakers, Cirencester Workshops, Cirencester.
1984 Spacex Artists, Exhibition of Drawings, Barnstaple College of Art and Spacex Gallery, Exeter.
1984 Fourth Annual Brewhouse Open, Taunton.
1983 Exposition des Artistes d’Exeter, Rennes, France.
1981 Plymouth Arts Centre.
1980-1 Hull Print Competition, Touring to - Hull, Sheffield, Birmingham, Sunderland.
1980 Exe Gallery, Exeter.
1977 Survey of Printmaking, Orchard Gallery, Londonderry, N. Ireland.
1977 Westward TV Open Art Competition, Truro.(Commendation: Painting Section).
1977 British Printmaking Now, Thumb Gallery, London.
1976 Fifth Bradford International Print Biennale, Cartwright Hall, Bradford.
1975 Westward TV Open Art Competition, Plymouth City Art Gallery.
1975 The Recollection, South West Arts Touring Exhibition.
1975 3-Dimensions Gallery, Berkeley, California, U.S.A.
1974 Printmakers Council Exhibition, Morley College Gallery, London.
1974 Plymouth Society of Artists, Plymouth City Art Gallery.
1974 3-D Prints Extraordinary, New Lane Gallery, Bradford.
1974 Exeter Collge of Art Printmakers, University of Exeter.
1973 The Print Club, Philadelphia, U.S.A.
1972 Third Bradford International Print Biennale, Cartwright Hall, Bradford.
1971 Printmakers Council Exhibition, Morley College Gallery, London.
1970 Second Bradford International Print Biennale, Cartwright Hall, Bradford.
1969 Curwen Gallery, London.
1969 Printmakers Council Exhibition, Morley College Gallery, London.
1968 First Bradford International Print Biennale, Cartwright Hall, Bradford.
1968 A.I.A. Gallery, London.
1967 Greenwich Theatre Gallery, London.
1966 Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston.
1965 Lancashire Artists, Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston.
1964 Northern Young Artists, Public Museum and Art Gallery, Sunderland.
SELECTED PRESS
2008 Britten, Anna. Muse definitely inspires, Metro, Sunday, August 10, 2008
2007 Radio Devon, Interview - Exeter Contemporary Open Prize Winners. 20th September.
1982 Dalton, John. Graham Clucas, The Guardian, Tuesday, October 5th, 1982, p9.
1969 Boulton Smith, John. PMC Exhibition at Morley College, Studio International, Vol.177, No.912, June 1969, p.299.
1969 Thomas, Robert. Graphics, Art and Artists, Vol.4, No.2, May 1969, p66.