Neuer Text
Gordon J. Clark
Photography Between Poetry and Reality
Gordon J. Clark’s images are raw, poetic, and intense.
As a visual storyteller, he explores identity, transience,
and the human condition in all its facets—challenging, emotional, and deeply moving,
shaped by his South African heritage and personal history.
Portfolio
Gordon J. Clark's body of work, consisting of four series created between 2009 and 2023,
is a forward-looking interpretation of the oppression, violence and trauma that the world
is currently experiencing again.
Below you can see a sample selection of photos from each series.
GROWING BIG
Quintino Baby 2003
GROWING BIG
Quintino, Bushie and Neighbours (Evolution), December 2013
GROWING BIG
Quintino / Death is Easy but Life is Harder, 2013
Artistic Vision & Biography
A Visual Storyteller
Gordon J. Clark is an extraordinary artist whose photography blurs the boundaries between documentary reality and staged art. His works are visual explorations of human existence, shaped by a deep sensitivity to marginalized communities, existential questions, and emotional truths. With his unique visual language, he creates scenes that are both challenging and poetic—images that are not merely observed but experienced.
His work deeply engages with themes of identity, isolation, and transience. In its directness, it is a bold fusion of artistic staging and unfiltered reality. Clark masterfully combines documentary elements with narrative compositions that both challenge and move the viewer.
Biography & Artistic Career
Gordon J. Clark was born in 1955 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Since the early 2000s, he has dedicated himself to using photography as a tool, establishing himself as a distinctive voice in contemporary art. His work spans nearly two decades, from 2003 to 2022, during which he created a remarkable body of work that now seeks its first complete institutional presentation.
His works have been exhibited in galleries across South Africa, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the USA.
He has collaborated extensively with Artco Gallery in Germany and has participated in major solo and group exhibitions in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Berlin.
Between 2022 and 2024, his work was represented by a gallery in Berlin. Now, the opportunity arises to present his complete body of work within an institutional setting for the first time. Despite numerous international exhibitions, his artistic development has yet to be showcased in a comprehensive presentation. Such an exhibition could offer new perspectives on his work and further establish his position in contemporary art.
Artistic Approach & Working Method
Clark’s images are defined by symbolic storytelling and deep emotional contrasts. A recurring motif in his series is the exploration of the self and personal existence—whether through depictions of duality, where a person confronts themselves, or the staging of captivity and control within human-made environments.
In his series TURNER ADAMS, we see the protagonist inside a wire cage—naked, vulnerable, and trapped between rusted barrels. Here, Clark explores the constraints of human freedom, whether imposed by societal structures or internal psychological imprisonment.
Another image from the series WHO AM I? depicts LEON, curled up naked on dark fabric—a symbol of helplessness and transience, evoking the fine line between birth and death.
In GROWING BIG, a tattooed gang leader sits with his back to the camera while two children rest on an old mattress—a scene capturing the tension between care, loss, and survival.
These images are not accidental moments but meticulously composed scenes, inviting the viewer to reflect on humanity in its rawest and most unfiltered form.
The Artist as a Person
Gordon J. Clark is a man of extremes—a relentless visionary who fully immerses himself in his work. His perspective on the world is sharp, analytical, and deeply emotional. He often oscillates between distant observation and intense personal involvement, a duality that is reflected in the complexity of his work.
As a person, he is both charismatic and enigmatic—a seeker who questions himself as much as the society he captures in his images. His artistic journey is not just a creative process but a personal confrontation with inner struggles, human nature, and the shadows of existence. He is a storyteller drawn to the contradictions of life: beauty in decay, strength in vulnerability, order in chaos.
Clark is not an artist who provides easy answers. Instead, he challenges the viewer to ask their own questions—about themselves, about the world, and about what lies beneath the surface. His art is a reflection of his tireless pursuit of truth, authenticity, and a deeper understanding of the human experience.
Selected Exhibitions
2022 MESSAGE TO SELF (Solo), Joshua Tree Gallery of Contemporary Art, USA
2020 THE OUTCOME OF TURNER ADAMS (Solo), Artco Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2019 FACE TO FACE, Artco Gallery, Aachen, Germany
2017 CAPE ART, Artco Gallery, Aachen, Germany
2014 GROOT GERAAKT (Solo), Commune.1, Cape Town, South Africa
2011 WHO AM I? – Transgressions (Solo, with Leon Botha), Kunstverein Aalen, Germany
2010 WHO AM I? – Transgressions (Solo, with Leon Botha), TORCH Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2009 WHAT IS FAMILIAR? (Solo), Odes Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Gordon Clark - Cinematographer and Director
Watch Gordon Clark's short movies: https://www.gordonclark.tv/cinematography
Press Articles
WHO AM I?
Leon
