Tim Clarkson

Tim Clarkson is a ceramic based sculptural artist currently working from his studio at Montsalvat.

His most recent work explores the deconstruction of forms into basic shapes and lines, which are then reconstructed in a semi-abstract manner using sharp angular planes and geometric shapes. He is most commonly known for his origami inspired sculptures such as the crane, which can be seen in various public collections around Victoria.

He has completed several significant commissions both here and overseas, including the Crown Metropol Hotel Melbourne, the Marriott Hotel Sydney and more recently a large scaled commission for the new Four Seasons Hotel Guangzhou, China.

When speaking about his practice, Clarkson states:

Being intrigued with the Cubists of the early 20th century, it comes as no surprise that my work heavily consists of angular lines, geometric shapes and Origami-like forms. As did the Cubists, I strip back forms, break them into flat angular plans and recreate them into 3 dimensional forms. My concepts generally start with loose sketches, followed by an analysis of construction. Paper plays an important role throughout the work, not only as the foundation for my ideas, but also by means of construction. Each piece is initially constructed with paper and card, experimenting with form, balance and arrangement, before moving onto constructing the piece with clay. This process can take several days or sometimes weeks depending on the form I’m trying to create.