June Clark (born 1941) is a Toronto-based artist working in photography, installation sculpture and collage. Formerly known as June Clark-Greenberg, Born in Harlem, New York, Clark immigrated to Canada in 1968 and subsequently made Toronto her home. The questions of identity formation and their connection to our points of origin fuel her practice. Clark explores how history, memory, and identity—both individual and collective—have established the familial and artistic lineages that shape her work.

Early life and education

Born in the

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

neighborhood of New York City, Clark immigrated to Toronto, Canada in 1968, leaving the United States during a turbulent period of protest and social change.Langford, Martha, ''Scissors, Paper, Stone: Expressions of Memory in Contemporary Photographic Art'' (Montreal/Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2007), pgs. 38–40. . Both cities influence her work, and Clark notes that upon first moving to Toronto, "It was both the discovery of the unfamiliar and memory of the known that captured my imagination."

Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; french: Musée des beaux-arts de l'Ontario) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located in the Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, on Dundas Street West between McCaul and Beve ...

"Meet Toronto artist June Clark"
Art Matters Blog, November 1, 2016. Retrieved 2017-01-27. After the move, Clark completed first a BFA in 1988 and then two years later, an MFA. at

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

.Farrell, Carolyn Bell and Alexandre Bohn
''June Clark-Greenberg: Whispering City''
Exhibition Catalogue (North York: Koffler Centre of the Arts, 1994), p. 3. . Retrieved 2017-02-05.

Work

Best known for her photo etchings and sculptural assemblages, Clark's practice excavates her personal experiences to investigate themes of black diasporic identity, exile and memory work. She began developing her early photography work through the Baldwin Street Gallery of Photography, co-founding The Women's Photography Co-op there in the early 1970s. Since then, her work has been exhibited in New York, Paris, Toronto, Montréal, Kiev and Quito, Ecuador. Clark began making her large photo etchings in the 1980s, with ''Formative Triptych'' (1989) being among her most well known images from this period. In these works, Clark repurposes family photographs, snapshots and negatives from her own documentary work, juxtaposing them with texts recalled from her childhood or appropriated from literature. Commenting on this pairing, Clark has said: Similarly, with ''Family Secrets'' (1992), for the series of the nineteen black painderd filled series of nineteen black-painted cigar boxes filled with mementoes "are like a… residue, not that they’re leftovers, but the people they evoke are here."Hanna, Deirdre, "Minimalism meets with sentiment in poignant Family Secrets boxes," ''NOW Magazine'', Toronto, July 2–8, 1992. Following these works, Clark continued to create photographic and sculptural installations, exhibiting ''Streetwise'' and ''Harlem Quilt'' in 1997 at The

Studio Museum in Harlem The Studio Museum in Harlem is an American art museum devoted to the work of artists of African descent. The museum's galleries are currently closed in preparation for a building project that will replace the current building, located at 144 W ...

, and ''Once… After'' at the Women's Art Resource Centre (WARC) in Toronto in 2000. Then in 2004, Clark produced the mixed-media work ''Dirge'', "a personal lament for her homeland and the erosion of the values that shaped her identity." Made from bits of rusted metal that she collected from highways, this iconic work is Clark's rendering of the American flag as symbol of social disintegration. In addition to regularly presenting her work over the past five decades, Clark has taught fine art courses at several institutions including

and the

University of Guelph , mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities" , established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922) , type = Public university , chancellor ...

, and has served on the boards of the Toronto Arts Council and

OCAD University Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within do ...

. She has also acted as a jury member for the Toronto Arts Council, the

Ontario Arts Council The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) is a publicly-funded Canadian organization in the province of Ontario whose purpose is to foster the creation and production of art for the benefit of all Ontarians. Based in Toronto, OAC was founded in 1963 by On ...

and The

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal i ...

for the Arts, and in 2007, she was a jury member for the

Ontario Association of Art Galleries The Galeries Ontario / Ontario Galleries (GOG), formerly Ontario Association of Art Galleries / Association Ontarienne des Galeries d’Art (OAAG/AOGA), was established in 1968 to encourage development of public art galleries, art museums, community ...

’ 30th Anniversary Awards. Since 2000, Clark has worked as a Cultural Affairs Officer for the

City of Toronto government The municipal government of Toronto ( incorporated as the City of Toronto) is the local government responsible for administering the city of Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a rec ...

Exhibitions

Clark began exhibiting her work in the early 1970s in both New York and Toronto; early group exhibitions include shows at The James Van DerZee Institute in New York City and at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto in 1975 and the Oakville Art Gallery in 1979. In 1974, she had her first two solo exhibitions in Toronto, ''Portraits of Cuba'' at the Parkdale branch of the

Toronto Public Library Toronto Public Library (TPL) (french: Bibliothèque publique de Toronto) is a public library system in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest public library system in Canada, and in 2008 had averaged a higher circulation per capita than any other pu ...

, and ''My Family'' at The Baldwin Street Gallery of Photography. While Clark continued to participate in exhibitions throughout the 1980s, in the 1990s, her work was included in two major group exhibitions: ''The Creation... Of the African Canadian Odyssey'' at

The Power Plant The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery is a Canadian non-collecting public contemporary art gallery located at the heart of Toronto, Ontario at the Harbourfront Centre. It is a registered Canadian charitable organization supported by its membe ...

Contemporary Art Gallery in Toronto in 1992 and ''Just the Facts? Contemporary Documentary Approaches'' at The

Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography The Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography (CMCP) (french: Le Musée canadien de la photographie contemporaine (MCPC)) was a gallery of Canadian contemporary art and documentary photography. Founded in 1985 and affiliated to the National Galle ...

in Ottawa, part of the biennale Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal 1999. While living in Paris, Clark's work was also included in Le Mois de la Photo à Paris in 1994. She also had her first major solo show in a professional gallery, ''Mnemosyne'' at

Mercer Union Mercer Union is a Canadian artist-run centre in Toronto, Ontario, established in 1979 to exhibit contemporary art. History Mercer Union was founded in 1979 by artists Michael Balfe, Peter Blendell, Ric Evans, Peter Hill, Jamie Lyons, David MacW ...

in 1990, where the ''Formative Triptych'' installation made its debut. Four years later, Clark had a second key solo show, ''Whispering City'' at The Koffler Gallery (now The

Koffler Centre of the Arts The Koffler Centre of the Arts is a broad-based cultural institution established in 1977 by Murray and Marvelle Koffler and based at Artscape Youngplace in the West Queen West area of downtown Toronto, Ontario. History Established in 1977 as part ...

), where work from the previous five years was on view. In the mid-2000s, Clark participated in two further significant group exhibitions; in 2005, her work was presented in ''Tribute: The Art of African Canadians'' at both The Peel Art Gallery and The

Art Gallery of Mississauga The Art Gallery of Mississauga (AGM) is a public, not-for-profit art gallery in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the Mississauga Civic Centre right on Celebration Square across from Square One Mall. The Gallery is open six days per ...

, and in 2006, ''Dirge'' (2004) was included in ''Fray'', a collaborative exhibition between the Textile Museum of Canada and The Koffler Gallery. Most recently, Clark's work was on display in the 2016 exhibition ''Toronto: Tributes + Tributaries, 1971–1989'' at the

as "a notable first-timer."

Recognition

Earlier in her career, Clark was selected for The

Artist-in-Residence program from 1996 to 1997. Prior to that, she was also awarded The

Studio in Paris annually from 1993 to 1996. She has also received multiple grants from The

and Toronto Arts Council.

Collections

, Toronto, ON *

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...

, Ottawa, ON *

The Robert McLaughlin Gallery The Robert McLaughlin Gallery is a public art gallery in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest public art gallery in the Regional Municipality of Durham, of which Oshawa is a part. The gallery houses a significant collection of Canadian conte ...

, Oshawa, ON.Olexander Wlasenk
''About Face: Portraits and Other Pictures''
Exhibition Catalogue. The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, 2005. Retrieved 2017-02-06. * Galerie du Jour –

Agnès b. agnès b. (born Agnès Andrée Marguerite Troublé, 1941) is a French fashion designer known for her self-named brand, which includes fashion and film interests. Life and early career Agnès had mixed twins at 19 and she separated from their ...

, Paris, France * Collection of

, Paris, France

References

External links

*
Official Website

2016 Interview with the Artist on AGO Art Matters Blog

June Clark at Daniel Faria Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, June Artists from Toronto Canadian contemporary artists York University alumni 20th-century Canadian women artists 1941 births Living people Black Canadian artists Black Canadian women