Art tribute to late mother

ALL smiles . . . Brian Clarke after receiving his honorary degree from University Centre Oldham

Oldham artist Brian Clarke pays a poignant tribute to his late mother in his latest New York exhibition.

It opens at the Phillips de Pury Gallery on West 15 Street on September 13, and includes 30 stained-glass pieces and paintings.

The artist, well known for his grid and crucifix motifs on work such as the stained glass in Spindles shopping centre, was brought up in Limeside and went to Oldham School of Art.

He was the son of a miner but it was his beloved mother Lilian, who died in 2006, who helped to inspire the 55-year-old’s latest exhibition.

Called “Don’t Forget the Lamb,” the work expresses his sense of profound loss at the death of his mother.

He has taken daily shopping lists written by his mother and incorporated them into the works. They also feature in “The Office of the Dead,” another large lead and stained glass piece which includes her reminders to buy groceries and medication, alongside references to mortality and the Book of Common Prayer.

Lilian died two weeks before Brian was awarded one of University Centre Oldham’s first honorary degrees.

Brian’s latest work also features a new motif of the human skull, which he says represents the anatomy and intellect of man.

There are also portraits of influential figures in his life: artists John Piper, Andy Warhol, Ben Nicholson, sculptor Henry Moore and historian Kenneth Clarke.

The portrait of John Piper, who died in 1993 and was his early mentor, is a skull and teeth backlit by an orange sun, and measures over 6ft by 6ft.