The art of Anthony Clarkson is a portal into child-like innocence, mixed with troubled spirits, broken hearts and a sense of emptiness. When Clarkson graduated from the Colorado Institute of Art in 2002, he was resolute in his decision to make a living as a graphic artist in the music industry. He was hired as the head graphic designer for a prominent record label in Los Angeles shortly thereafter. Embracing a vibrantly hyper realistic digital photo-manipulation technique, his first published album cover followed shortly after joining their ranks and quickly established a long list of published album covers for several bands on various labels.

Inspired by the continuously evolving Los Angeles new contemporary art scene and growing weary with digital art, Clarkson began to revisit the drawing style of his youth, mixed with the feelings and dark emotions he has dealt with throughout his adult life. In late 2005 he was given the chance to be in his first group show at Thinkspace in Los Angeles, thus providing the perfect opportunity to begin showcasing a completely new direction in his artistic style.

Clarkson’s art has been showcased in several galleries in the United States including Thinkspace, DvA Gallery, Gallery 1988, Cannibal Flower and Copro/Nason. Exhibitions of note include special curated exhibitions that were dedicated to Mattel/Hot Wheels, Marvel Comics (hosted by Stan Lee) and Crazy for Cult 2 (hosted by Kevin Smith). Clarkson was also featured in the ‘Intersections’ show at the Cypress College that took place during the spring of 2008.

In addition to a growing following on the gallery circuit, Clarkson is also one of 100 artists that has been tapped by vinyl toy juggernaut MindStyle to participate in Experiment 626, a crossover tour in conjunction with Disney. Each artist was sent a blank 10-inch vinyl figure of Stitch from Disney’s Lilo & Stitch movie to customize. These custom art pieces will tour the globe. The traveling exhibition will end in November 2009 in Hawaii. Past that, be on the lookout for additional action in the vinyl toy market from Clarkson as we enter into 2010 and beyond.

Clarkson’s vision continues to expand as his paintings evolve into more intense expressions of his own dark thoughts.

Current and Previous Works by Anthony Clarkson