Barry Clarke

Artist Profile

Artist Statement

“I am a self-taught jewellery maker. I have always painted and studied art informally through reading and spending hours at the British and Victoria and Albert Museums. I find jewellery making gives me a wider audience and accessibility that painting couldn’t give. My father was a carpenter/joiner and from him I learnt to have a love of the tools and that combined with my love of the ancient and modern arts has led me to make the jewellery I make.”

“I love the workability and colour of gold and silver and prefer to use semi-precious stones that I often rough-cut myself. My methods are simple, forging and shaping and often the work has surface textures and marks. I am influenced by the Minoan, Cycladic and Celtic cultures as well as the modern artists, Brancusi, Picasso, Giocometti and Marini.”