Ann Clarke

Ann Clarke, originally from Rochester, NY, is a fiber artist who received an MFA from Rhode Island School of Design. She holds a bachelor of fine arts degree in painting and printmaking from the University of Michigan. Clarke has spent the majority of her professional career in academia as a higher education administrator and faculty member at Syracuse University. In 1998, she joined SU as a faculty member in Fiber Arts/Material Studies. In 2008, she was named the Dean of Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. [1]

Clarke’s work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Noyes Museum of Art in Oceanville, N.J.; gallery gen in New York City; Dongshin University in the Republic of Korea; and the Everson Museum of Art. In her studio, Two Sticks Knitting, she creates one-of-a-kind art to wear, including coats, hats, and wall hangings. Her work is featured in many private collections and has been published extensively. [2]

Her recent works explore "reconstructed narratives - memory and meaning."[3] Eye portals are a reflective look at the past and how it informs us of the present.

"The exaggerated scale of these eye portals, that dome and protrude from the wall are like eyes in the past breaking through the wall, or one's past peering into the present as thoughts made manifest. Their size and color, odd, and perhaps unnerving while the lush tufted construction evokes the promise of comfort never provided. The portals become readable as eyes as one increases one’s distance from the gaze. I see these as portraits of specific people from history and lives lived." [4] 

Clarke's knitted rug series is similarly influenced by the intersection of past and present, informed by the experiences of her mother's life and her changing relationship with time. 

In 2023, the Langley H. Kenzie Award was awarded to artist Ann Clarke for her stunning fiber artworks Interior Landscape: Early Spring Early Morning and Interior Landscape: Winter Night.  Clarke's work has been selected by different jurors for previous Art in Craft Media biennials, and we have long admired her artistry and imaginative fiber works. Stay tuned for Ann Clarke's 2024 exhibition at the Center, opening in September!  

For more information on Ann Clarke, visit her website http://annclarkeart.com/ or follow her on Instagram at  @annclarketextiles 

[1] Syracuse University, “Faculty Bio,” College of Visual and Performing Arts, http://vpa.syr.edu/faculty-staff/ann-clarke. (Accessed 10/05/2017)

[2] Ann Clarke, “About,” http://annclarkeart.com/about/. (Accessed 10/05//2017)

[3] Ann Clarke, Artist Statement, Burchfield Penney Artist File. 

[4] Ann Clarke, Artist Statement, Burchfield Penney Artist File.