From illustrations, tapestries, and paintings on paper, canvas and ceramic, Daniel Dzonu-Clarke’s  (b.1989) works reflect the ordered chaos of the urban environment he grew up in, and the essential tranquillity he finds in the natural world. Since 2005 his work has been a fusion, finding balance between the organic and geometric, weaving in unison to form harmonious and evocative scenes and landscapes. His work deconstructs everyday passing moments, reconfiguring them into static compositions that retain a sensorial rhythm and movement. Weaving together the sharper geometries of his home city, with the fluid forms of Ghana, the land of his heritage, his work builds dreamscapes; reflections of a world that exists only in his imagination.

Dzonu-Clarke was born and raised in London. He earned his degree in Illustration at Camberwell College of Art, and has been working as an artist and designer ever since. While studying, he showed in this first ever exhibition, where he was awarded student runner-up at the 2012 V&A Illustration Awards. After finishing university he participated in a group exhibition, again at the V&A, entitled Friday Late: Peckham Takeover (2013). 

Over the following years he saw success as his illustrations were commissioned by major publications such as The New Yorker, Wallpaper Magazine, Penguin Books and more. In 2015 he collaborated with the Scandinavian furniture brand Førest to produce a series of textile designs for their mid-century furniture collection. This collaboration sat alongside his first solo exhibition Daniel D Clarke x Førest, where he presented a series of geometric gouache paintings. That same year he was approached by Assemble, the collective who had just won the Turner Prize, and was invited to create two large scale artworks for the Urgent Imagination exhibition taking place at Western Front Gallery, Vancouver. Again working with gouache, a technique that would become foundational to his artistic expressions on paper and wood.

He moved to Berlin in 2016, and in 2017 was offered his first curatorial opportunity. The show was titled Gameshow, and he exhibited alongside 6 other artists at Raum Vollreinigung, Berlin. In 2019, Daniel showed his work in another group exhibition titled A broken hand is not a broken heart, at Ninasagt Galerie, Dusseldorf. 

Returning to London half a decade later, he reconnected with a childhood friend and fellow artist who invited him to join The Workshop studio space in Vauxhall. It was in this vast and historic building that Daniel developed a new fascination with ceramics, and would create vessels and tiles to adorn with his abstracted illustrative artworks.

Shortly after The Workshop closed in 2022, Daniel was invited to complete an artist residency at the Kokrobitey Institute, a centre of innovative and sustainable design located just outside of Accra, Ghana. Inspired by the Institute’s focus on sustainability, and the indigenous knowledge and support of a local horticulturist, Daniel created a series of tapestries based on trees local to the area. Working with used fabrics purchased at Accra’s Kantamanto Market, one of the world’s largest destinations for secondhand clothing, the artist spent his time at the Kokrobitey Institute exploring traditional hand-dyeing techniques such as batik and tie-dye. In early 2023, the six textile works were showcased at an exhibition entitled Tapestrees, alongside photographs captured by local photographer Morris Frimpong, depicting the trees, materials and artistic process that birthed the series. While in Ghana, he also ran workshops with local students and creatives, sharing digital design skills that could further support their practice. 

Thanks to a successful residency and exhibition in Ghana, Dzonu-Clarke was contacted by the Reku Gallery in Madrid, and invited to show in a solo exhibition. Memories in Form, was his first opportunity to present his textiles, ceramic works and paintings all together.

His most recent group exhibition What I Thought I Knew, curated by Ronan Mckenzie, closed at the Bernie Grant Arts Center in August 2024.

Recent solo exhibitions:

Memories in Form, Reku Art Gallery, Madrid (2023)

Tapestrees, Kokrobitey Institute, Ghana (2023)

Recent group exhibitions: 

What I Thought I Knew, Bernie Grant Arts Center, London (2024)

In Praise of Home,  Partnership Editions, London (2024)