Philip Clairmont
Encyclopedia
Philip Clairmont was a New Zealand painter. Clairmont studied in Christchurch
under Rudolf Gopas, graduating from the Canterbury School of Fine Arts in 1970. In 1973 he received a Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council grant, and by 1977 he was painting full time in his new home city of Auckland
. Clairmont's work was informed by the works of Vincent van Gogh
and Francis Bacon, and was also influenced by his close relationship with fellow artists Tony Fomison
and Allen Maddox.
Clairmont's work is usually classed as expressionist or neo-expressionism, using strong colours and distorted forms, often with domestic interiors as subject matter. His early work thens to be focussed and detailed. During his final decade his work has a tendency to be looser and less intense.
Clairmont epitomised the stereotypical bohemian artist lifestyle, feeling that this form of life was necessary for him to regard himself as an authentic artist. Clairmont committed suicide in 1984, at the age of 34.
A biography of Clairmont by Martin Edmond
, The resurrection of Philip Clairmont (Auckland University Press, 1999), was a finalist in the 2000 Montana New Zealand Book Awards
.
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
under Rudolf Gopas, graduating from the Canterbury School of Fine Arts in 1970. In 1973 he received a Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council grant, and by 1977 he was painting full time in his new home city of Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
. Clairmont's work was informed by the works of Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
and Francis Bacon, and was also influenced by his close relationship with fellow artists Tony Fomison
Tony Fomison
Tony Fomison was a notable artist in New Zealand. He was an important post-war visual artist in the country and influenced New Zealand art by incorporating elements of narrative and myth into contemporary art....
and Allen Maddox.
Clairmont's work is usually classed as expressionist or neo-expressionism, using strong colours and distorted forms, often with domestic interiors as subject matter. His early work thens to be focussed and detailed. During his final decade his work has a tendency to be looser and less intense.
Clairmont epitomised the stereotypical bohemian artist lifestyle, feeling that this form of life was necessary for him to regard himself as an authentic artist. Clairmont committed suicide in 1984, at the age of 34.
A biography of Clairmont by Martin Edmond
Martin Edmond
Martin Edmond is a New Zealand author and screenplay writer. Heis the son of writer Lauris Edmond.Edmond studied Anthropology and English, graduating MA in English from Victoria University of Wellington...
, The resurrection of Philip Clairmont (Auckland University Press, 1999), was a finalist in the 2000 Montana New Zealand Book Awards
Montana New Zealand Book Awards
The New Zealand Post Book Awards are a series of literary awards to works of New Zealand citizens. They were created in 1996, as a merge of the two previously most relevant awards in New Zealand: the Montana Book Awards and the New Zealand Book Awards...
.
External links
- Photographic portrait of Clairmont by Marti FriedlanderMarti FriedlanderMarti Friedlander is a New Zealand photographer.Born in England to Russian Jewish immigrants, from the age of three she was raised in orphanages. She married a New Zealander and emigrated to New Zealand in 1958...