Abstract architectural fragments and cityscapes in Daniel Clarke’s new work

We featured Daniel Clarke around this time last year, since then the London-based illustrator has been pushing the textures and structures that make up his cityscapes, interiors and utopian landscapes and applying them to soft furnishings, skate decks and exhibition murals. Dan describes his interest in architecture as stemming from his roots in skateboarding, “Growing up in London I spent my teens searching the city for new structures and spaces to skate, constantly on the look out for new shapes within urban environments and that’s still an integral part of my everyday life.” His university project on the Heygate Estate came about from just that, and led to his recreating the architectural forms that made up the estate.

More recently, his work has become more abstract, “Rather than illustrating a structure as it is, I’ve started to recreate the elements of a space in fragmented forms, giving an alternative perspective and narrative.” It’s a method that came about while Dan was travelling around Europe. “It allowed me to take notes of the various shapes I encountered and return to these visual records to create an illustrated journey [later on.]” It was the beginning of a new approach, one that has since been applied to commissions from Forest furniture store, Brummell, Vanguard Editions, Slam City Skates and Assemble.