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The Bumper Bar

Your bumper bar /
Cushions tactfully on tar /
And prone it may be /
To the bends, like your knee /
Has manoeuvring at heart /
Prime protects, if in part /
'round roads & round backs /
Impromptu olfactory attacks /
Far fetched or squeal near /
Bump yourself into /
The 'oh' zone's flip gear ///


•The Bumper Bar• is a work that looks at the parallels between humans and cars, their potential points of contact, and their protective actions and devices, albeit in an oblique manner and in an essentially abstracted mode. Bumper bars signify extremities, extrusions, emissions, & potential connectivity. •The Bumper Bar• is in some respects a companion piece to another work, entitled •Tailgate Picnic•, the two sharing certain points of reference and compositional devices. The work was printed in Japan from locally sourced woods, the central ovoid 'bumper' shape being offset from cut log-ends of Japanese cedar ('sugi' • 杉), obtained from mountainside lumber-milling outposts and prepared in such a way so as to enhance the inherent woodgrain; the other areas of the composition having been printed from various ply and like woods. All printing was done using a hand-held 'baren', without the aid of a printing press.

Size
38cm x 57cm
Prints
7
Technique
Xylography

Neilton Clarke

Sydney-born artist Neilton Clarke undertook undergraduate & graduate painting and printmaking studies in the late-70s & early-80s at The University of New South Wales (incorporating COFA, City Art Institute, & AMCAE) and is the recipient of awards from The Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (Moya Dyring Scholarship; Dyason Bequest Award), New South Wales Ministry for the Arts (International Projects Program Grant), Australian DFAT, Warringah Council (Warringah Art Prize / Printmedia), The Australia-Japan Foundation (Tokyo), Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and The Japan Foundation. Widely travelled, he has undertaken artist-in-residence programs in Canada (Est-Nord-Est, Québec), France (Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris on four occasions), Thailand (Silpakorn University, Bangkok & Nakhon Pathom campuses; DR Visual Art Centre & Baan Suan Tarn), and Japan (TAMA Life 21 Project, Tokyo). Clarke is represented in numerous collections, including The National Gallery of Australia, The Art Gallery of New South Wales, University of NSW, Macquarie University, State Library of Queensland (Brisbane), Sydney Institute of TAFE, The Myer Foundation, Sydney MLC Centre, Ella Baché Sydney, Cité des Arts (Paris), The Australian Embassy (Bangkok), Silpakorn University, Mahanakorn University of Technology (Bangkok), Akiruno City Collection (Tokyo), Machida Museum of Graphic Arts (Tokyo), Urawa Art Museum (Japan), and Splitgraphic Archive Collection (Croatia). Based in Japan from 1993 to 2018, he taught at Tama Art University and Joshibi University of Art & Design.

Birthdate: 13/09/1958

Nationality: Australian

Exhibitions:
  • 2015: BMW Mildura Australian Print Triennial Exhibition - The Art Vault, Mildura, Victoria (www.aptmildura.com.au) // 'FUN & GAMES' - Sydney Printmakers - Gallery Lane Cove, Sydney (www.gallerylanecove.com.au).
  • 2014: 'Antipodes' - Sydney Printmakers & CPCANZ Printmakers at NorthArt Gallery, New Zealand; Pine Street Gallery, Sydney. // 'Boundless & Borderless' touring exhibition (Canada, Taiwan, Australia, 2013-15).
  • 2013: '25x25 - Contemporary Japanese & Australian Printmaking' - Japan Foundation Gallery, Sydney. // 2008: Libris Awards Artists' Book Prize - Artspace Mackay, QLD. // 2006: 'Sydney Prints' - S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney (2007 regional NSW gallery tour).
  • 2002: 20th Birthday Celebration of Australian Art, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. // 2001: 'Pitching a Stitch' - Faculty Gallery, Silpakorn University, Bangkok. // 2001: 'DROPS' Installation - Tachikawa International Art-Fest Tokyo.
  • 1999: 'Conglomerations' - Gallery Jin, Tokyo. // 1998: 'turn & burn' - Lunami Gallery, Tokyo. // 1996: 'On Ore' - Akiyama Gallery, Tokyo. // 1995: 'Rot' - Lunami Gallery, Tokyo. // 1989: 'Une Dernière Vague' + 'Recent Paintings' - Cité des Arts, Paris.

Website: www.thebrag.com

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