Maree Clarke

Maree Clarke (born 1961) is an Australian multidisciplinary artist and curator from Victoria, renowned for her work in reviving south-eastern Aboriginal Australian art practices.

Early life and education

Maree Clarke was born in 1961 at Swan Hill, Victoria, of Mutti Mutti, Yorta Yorta, BoonWurrung, and Wemba Wemba descent.[1] She grew up in and around Mildura in North Western Victoria.[2]

Career

Clarke began working as an educator in her home town in 1978, which provided her with a solid base from which to develop her career in promoting and supporting South-East Aboriginal histories, culture and knowledge.[3] Along with her brother and sister, Clarke established Kiah Krafts, an Aboriginal arts enterprise, in Mildura.[4]

The City of Port Phillip became the first Victorian local government to establish a centre dedicated to actively promoting Aboriginal arts and culture, creating the first Koori Arts Unit in St Kilda. Clarke was the first Koori Arts Officer from 1994 to 1998, and instrumental in its success.[3] In 1996, Clarke curated, with Kimba Thompson and Len Tregonning, the We Iri We Homeborn Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Festival.[citation needed] Her collaborations with these two artists as well as Sonja Hodge can be seen in public artworks around the city of Melbourne.[4]

Art practice

Clarke works across a range of mediums including photography, sculpture, painting, and jewellery.[5][4]

Research and revival of cultural practices which have been lost as a result of colonisation form an important part of Clarke's art practice. Clarke goes to museums to research and work with objects in their collections.[6] Her work has seen her become a pivotal figure in the reclamation of cultural and artistic practices of South Eastern Australian Aboriginal peoples.[7][3] Her work has included eel traps, kopis, possum skin cloak-making, and kangaroo tooth necklaces (Thung-ung Coorang). She is committed to preserving intergenerational memories of cultural practices.[4]

Recognition and awards

Made from Memory (Nan's house) (2017) was purchased by the National Gallery of Australia in 2017 in recognition of the 50th Anniversary of the 1967 Referendum.[8]

In 2021. Clarke was the first living Aboriginal artist to be featured in a solo exhibition in the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne.[4]

In 2022, a major retrospective of Clarke's works titled Ancestral Memories was shown at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne.[9]

In 2023, Clarke won the Melbourne Prize for Urban Sculpture,[10] "for her recent experimental work in glass as well as the pivotal role she has played in the Victorian Indigenous art scene over the past three decades".[11]

Personal life

Clarke has lived in Melbourne since 1988 and as of 2021.[4]

Collections

Clarke's work is included in the following galleries and collections:

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

Group exhibitions

References

  1. ^ a b "Maree Clarke | Artists | NGV". www.ngv.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Maree Clarke Bio". Vivien Anderson Gallery. 2021. Archived from the original on 9 March 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Fran Edmonds with Maree Clarke". Centre for Indigenous Story. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Clark, Maddee (13 July 2021). "Artist Maree Clarke's extraordinary practice celebrated in first solo show by a living Victorian Aboriginal artist at the NGV". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Maree Clarke, Thung-ung Coorang (Kangaroo teeth necklace) 2013". Monash University Museum of Art. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Linear Artists: Maree Clarke". Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  7. ^ a b c "Maree Clarke: Bunjilaka". museumsvictoria.com.au. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  8. ^ a b Clarke, Maree. "Made from Memory (Nan's house)". Item held by National Gallery of Australia. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  9. ^ "Maree Clarke Connects Country, Culture, and Place". ocula.com. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Melbourne Prize Trust » Urban Sculpture". Melbourne Prize Trust. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  11. ^ Burke, Kelly (15 November 2023). "Maree Clarke wins $60,000 Melbourne urban sculpture prize for detailed glass renderings of nature". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  12. ^ "Maree Clarke". Vivien Anderson Gallery. Retrieved 9 March 2020.