June Clark Biography

Through her art practice, June Clark’s search for her place in the world is intensely personal but opens out onto the increasingly alienated world that we all share.

Growing up in Harlem gives her a unique understanding of the contemporary world. The events of her life shape new understandings of the past. It is this encompassing self which gives her work its depth and relevance. Photographs, etchings, collage and 3D lead her to formulate methods of expression in order to communicate the intertwining of her past and her present. Clark’s practice has many levels and is never didactic.

Clark pushes to integrate the direct knowledge and passion of her personal life with the public concerns of our time. Making art is a life commitment. Through her unique manipulation of materials she attempts to come to terms with the dimensions of personal experience.

June Clark has earned a national and international reputation for her photo-based image works, installations and interventions. As an Artist-in-Residence she has spent more than a year in Paris, two years in New York City which included the Studio Museum in Harlem, and six months at OCAD. She has exhibited widely throughout Canada and abroad, including exhibitions in Ecuador, Austria, Paris and New York. She has taught studio and academic visual arts courses at a number of art schools, including York University, the University of Guelph, and the Ontario College of Art and Design. Clark has an MFA in visual arts from York University.

She currently resides in Toronto.

Text courtesy the artist

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Representative Artworks

June Clark, Counterpoise (from 'The Perseverance Suite') (2023). Mixed media. Courtesy the artist and Daniel Faria Gallery. Exhibition view: Witness, The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Toronto (3 May–11 August 2024). Photo: LF Documentation.
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June Clark, Moral Disengagement (2014–2017). Polyester, wood and oxidided metal. Courtesy the artist and Daniel Faria Gallery. Photo: LF Documentation.
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June Clark, 44 Thursdays in Paris (2004). Machine photographs, archival paper. Courtesy the artist and Daniel Faria Gallery. Exhibition view: Witness, The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Toronto (3 May–11 August 2024). Photo: LF Documentation.
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June Clark, Untitled (The Whispering City) (1994). Photo etching. Presented in partnership with CONTACT Photography Festival. Photo: LF Documentation.
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June Clark, 'Homage' (2011–ongoing) (detail). Series. Exhibition view: Witness, The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Toronto (3 May–11 August 2024). Photo: LF Documentation.
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June Clark,Tubman (from 'The Perseverance Suite') (2023). Metal, yarn, paint. Courtesy the artist and Daniel Faria Gallery. Photo: Dean Tomlinson.
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June Clark, Untitled (c. 1975). Silver gelatin print. Courtesy the artist and Daniel Faria Gallery.
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June Clark, Family Secrets (1992). Eighteen cigar boxes and mixed media. Courtesy the artist and Daniel Faria Gallery. Exhibition view: Witness, The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Toronto (3 May–11 August 2024). Photo: LF Documentation.
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June Clark, Keepers (2004–2023) (detail). Mixed media. Courtesy the artist and Daniel Faria Gallery. Exhibition view: Witness, The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Toronto (3 May–11 August 2024). Photo: LF Documentation.
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June Clark, Keepers (2004–2023) (detail). Mixed media. Courtesy the artist and Daniel Faria Gallery. Exhibition view: Witness, The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Toronto (3 May–11 August 2024). Photo: LF Documentation.
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June Clark, 'The Perseverance Suite' (2021–2024). Series. Exhibition view: Witness, The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Toronto (3 May–11 August 2024). Photo: LF Documentation.
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June Clark, 'Homage' (2011–ongoing) (detail). Series. Exhibition view: Witness, The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Toronto (3 May–11 August 2024). Photo: LF Documentation.
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June Clark in Ocula Magazine

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