June Clark: Witness
Contemporary Calgary, Calgary, AB - To Aug 31
A deconstructed American flag, a row of black wooden cigar boxes and a room-size illuminated memorial quilt are but a few of the works by June Clark on view at Contemporary Calgary. Showcasing Clark’s artistic legacy and groundbreaking practice, Witness explores intersections between family, Blackness, history, identity and remembrance.
The exhibition features work from the 1990s to the present, including her iconic installations Family Secrets and Harlem Quilt; a series of photo-based works, 44 Thursdays in Paris; and both Perseverance Suite and Homage, two collections of sculptural assemblages. Organized by The Power Plant, where it showed in 2024, the new iteration of this important survey includes Unrequited Love, nine works dedicated to NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who caused controversy in 2016 when he kneeled during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial injustice.
Harnessing the abstract and illusory associations of the American flag, one work is assembled from rusted metal (Dirge), and Harlem renders the flag impotent with cotton stripes and stars torn and piled on the floor. Each variation reflects Clark’s growing disillusionment, which is reiterated in other works from Perseverance Suite. Constructed from railroad spikes, chains and wire, these sculptures evoke the legacy of the Underground Railroad, linking historical trauma with acts of resistance and remembrance.
After emigrating from Harlem, NY, to Toronto in 1968, Clark made Canada her second home. From her beginnings in the late 1960s as a photographer, Clark has emerged as a poignant and quietly radical archivist and storyteller through her autobiographical works that span photography, text, collage, installation, and sculptural assemblage.
Seen as a whole, this exhibition presents a striking blend of tones, themes and artistic styles. Clark explores the role symbology plays in shaping our views through deeply personal works that are celebratory, haunting and quietly provocative.
