A Fine Artist’s Saga: The Fascinating Journey of Pinque Clark

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Category: Art, Museums, Galleries

Published on Saturday, 18 June 2016 18:30

Written by Liz Palisin

Pinque Clark is no stranger to a challenge, from pop-up shows to shooting a boudoir series to art exhibitions in Italy, the Boulder-based photographer has immersed herself in a range of interesting and compelling work.

Her love for photography began at a very young age. In college, her hobby bloomed into a passion that eventually evolved into her lifelong career. Her intimate, distinct photos are iconic and have won prestigious awards across the country and internationally.

Her studies of Renaissance art inspired her photography’s unique aesthetic. Through mentorship and hard work she became a renowned photographer with a fresh style. “I’ve never even taken a photography class,” she explains.

Her latest work on her "boudoir series" combines sensuality and her recognizable Renaissance elegance to produce striking portraits. “I wanted to photograph sensuality as a challenge for myself,” Pinque says, "I want to show these people off and have the viewer explore the photos and make their own opinions as they go through them.” It is for that reason that she did not name the photos and chose to number them instead.

In this series she highlights portraits with different gradients of light and darkness on the human body with a thematic use of a strand of pearls. “Using the pearls is my signature,” she explains, “it brings the whole series together. Even the men that I photographed agreed to use them. They wanted to do it and every person did their own thing and enjoyed it.”

She initially began the series when women came to her asking for boudoir shoots. She eventually posted her idea for the series on Facebook where she received overwhelming response. “I have even shot my hair and makeup guy,” she says, “and he is 58!"

Her sensuous photos have created quite a stir in the Boulder community and beyond. “People have said that my work is too racy, but I see it as a challenge. Controversy isn’t always a bad thing for an artist. I would like to shoot transgender individuals, men, women, and all different sexual orientations. Photography is a beautiful way to show all types of people and their stories.”

For Pinque life is all about the adventure and learning to live artistically. “In 2013 I left to live in Italy,” she explains, “I made friends there and entered all the contests that I could. I got into many of the ones that I applied for and that was a huge boost.” Her photo “#15” from the boudoir series was selected out of over 5,000 entries to be one of the 50 to be shown in the Camera USA National Photography Exhibition in Naples, FL.

Beyond boudoir Pinque is working on an assortment of captivating projects, including her latest, shooting a boxing match. “It was a huge match called ‘The Founder’s Fight’ and they cleared out an entire restaurant,” she says, “it was sanctioned of course, and it was an amazing fundraiser. All the founders of start-up clubs trained for months. I shot 6 hours of photography without flash, which was exhausting. I am a debutante so I am really unfamiliar with boxing but it was an honor and something that I have never done.” She is looking to do a boxing series for 2016 to challenge herself artistically.

To learn more visit: http://photosbypinque.com/