Dani Clark lifts his paintbrush to a bright yellow canvas covered in brushstrokes. Soon, a frightened rabbit covering its face appears on the beautiful backdrop, closely followed by an amorphous mass of human hands pointing different directions.
But beauty and horror side by side are just a normal part of how Clark works as a painter and ceramicist, challenging and connecting to viewers of his artwork. And as the latest artist-in-residence at the MacGown Art Retreat and Studio, Clark is bringing that challenge back to the Golden Triangle for the next few weeks.
“My paintings are very horror inspired,” Clark said. “They may be a bit macabre. But they’re very colorful in juxtaposition to my ceramics, which are more cups and bowls and function world. They don’t compliment each other extremely, but there’s kind of a yin yang between the two.”
Clark was born in China in 1992, before immigrating to the United States via adoption at two years old, according to his artist biography. He was primarily raised in North Mississippi, and he said he grew up drawing, scribbling and “making a mess” almost his entire life.
After high school, Clark initially thought he would pursue nursing or other aspects of the medical field. But while he was attending Itawamba Community College, he started considering graphic design or other forms of art as part of his future.
Clark decided to attend Mississippi State University, where he received his bachelor’s of fine arts in painting in 2018. But along the way, he found himself in a summer course on ceramics taught by Robert Long, and the rest is “kind of history,” he said.
“I got bitten by the clay bug, and it just stuck with me ever since,” Clark said. “And I’ve just managed to always keep my hands in clay.”
After graduation, Clark moved to the coast to work as an art teacher in North Gulfport. But while he was on the coast, he found Biloxi’s Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art, and its attached Biloxi Center of Ceramics. By 2021, he started working for the center as a studio technician, and eventually, he started working as a ceramics teacher.
For the past few years, Clark said, his artwork has primarily focused on functional ceramics. He creates cups, mugs, bowls, vases, teapots and other vessels, selling them online through his shop, Rabbit Ashes Studios. But his ceramic work also includes occasional sculptural pieces, like jugs with faces protruding from them or a mug with teeth around the top.
“I’m inspired by Eastern ceramics. So, Japanese ceramicists,” Clark said. “Or, you look at like Bernard Leach or Simon Leach. That type of style. But as I’ve grown, I’ve started becoming a lot more loose and abstract. And … a lot of the quirks from my painting are starting to bleed over.”
While Clark’s ceramics focus more heavily on beauty and functionality, he described his paintings as “macabre” and “horror inspired.” His paintings often feature animal or human figures, but with distorted or abstract bodies.
“I feel like it’s sort of an immediate challenge to figure out why things are uncomfortable, or to figure out why you’re disturbed by something,” Clark said. “Someone once told me that horror is the absence of knowledge, and this is a direct challenge to that. If I can figure out what makes unease, and kind of strain against it, I … have more of a comfort in life.”
In both his ceramics and paintings, Clark finds satisfaction in the creation process and in the finished product. And no matter the medium, creating art is often about community, Clark said.
“It’s connection,” Clark said. “Being able to connect with other artists or other people. The more I can share, whether that’s art or knowledge about how to create art, the more I learn about myself. … There’s this sort of connective element to it. And it’s a wonderful feeling. It’s why I love teaching. I think art is meant to be shared at some point.”
Retreat owner, entomologist and artist Joe MacGown said he has known Clark and been familiar with his work for years. However, he was happy to invite Clark to the residency program, where he can visit with local artists, continue to build his body of work and encourage the art community through his unique perspective.
“I love the dichotomy between his paintings and his ceramic work,” MacGown said. “His paintings are more on the … macabre, grotesque, or ugly side. … Whereas his ceramic work, typically, not always, is beautiful. He’s thinking about traditions and how people have made things historically.”
Clark will also receive a stipend for his work during the residency program, thanks to the Del Rendon Foundation. MacGown serves as a board member for the foundation, he said.
MacGown said there will be a meet and greet event for Clark at 2-5 p.m. Sunday at the retreat’s Sessums Road location. There will also be a one-night show of Clark’s work at 5:30-7 p.m. Thursday at the Del Rendon Foundation’s headquarters, 100 GT Thames Drive, Suite C1.
For more information on Clark’s events or to schedule a visit with him during his residency, email [email protected], or reach out via social media.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 47 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
