Brian Clarke 'Nocturne In Blue' Print Application Open

Artist: Brian Clarke
Title: Nocturne In Blue
Medium: Framed 32 Color Screen Print
Size: 60 x 80 cm
Edition: 300
Price: $1,500

*application open until Noon EST on Monday December 8th, 2025

___________

Sir Brian Clarke (1953–2025) was a leading British painter and architectural artist, widely celebrated for revolutionizing the medium of stained glass and integrating it into modern architecture. Born in Oldham, Lancashire, he started art school at just 12 years old and came to prominence in the late 1970s, known for his prolific output and work across various media including painting, sculpture, and mosaic. Clarke believed strongly that art could transform consciousness and aimed to bring the "liquid, fluid, transparent colour" of stained glass into daily experience, moving it beyond traditional religious contexts.

His work is characterized by significant technical innovation, such as pioneering stained glass without the use of lead lines and, conversely, creating sculptural works made almost entirely of lead, pushing the boundaries of the material's potential for both transparency and opacity. Throughout his five decade career, Clarke collaborated with some of the world's most renowned architects, including Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid, and I. M. Pei, on monumental projects across the globe. Notable works include the vast glass wall at the Al Faisaliah Centre in Riyadh, the towering Stamford Cone in Connecticut, and the soaring dove motif at the apex of the Pyramid of Peace and Reconciliation in Kazakhstan.

Beyond architectural installations, Clarke's diverse artistic practice included designing stage sets for Paul McCartney's world tours and creating the cover painting for the album Tug of War. A significant part of his later work involved creating free standing, folding glass screens, which function as autonomous, portable artworks that interact dynamically with light and space, rather than being fixed to a building's structure. Appointed the sole executor of the Estate of Francis Bacon in 1998, Clarke was involved in donating Bacon's entire studio contents to the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin. He was knighted for his services to art in the King's 2024 New Year Honours list, a fitting recognition for an artist who profoundly influenced the architectural art form and left an indelible mark on the world.