There’s so much stuff made on a daily basis, so much stuff chucked away. Silversmithing must be relevant, must be challenging to exist as a discipline. Repeating what’s known and familiar is not interesting and for me, not the future. To literally dig into its past, see its connections, bastardise the purity, value and ego is critical to subvert, twist and reformulate into curious, fascinating objects for the future. Technique is not enough; we must go beyond this to absorb and involve the audience. We have plenty of leftovers to pick over – historical, social, ritual and political. There’s plenty of meat on the bones for me.

David Clarke is one of Britain’s most innovative silversmiths. Since graduating from the Royal College of Art in 1997, he has produced a wealth of covetable objects that have contributed richly to the renaissance of contemporary British silversmithing. With a reputation for producing engaging, intelligent and challenging domestic objects, Clarke dismantles and combines antique and classic pieces with new forms, mixing materials and metaphor with equal glee. As well, Clarke considers the cultural and political histories of decorative objects with a contemporary and subversive slant. His objects respond to the entrenched traditions of silversmithing with daring and wit.

Clarke has been visiting professor at Konstfack, Sweden, Hiko Mizuno College in Japan, the Akademie der Bildenden Kunst in Munich, Pforzheim School of Design and The Royal College of Art, London and the Rhode Island School of Design, USA, among others.

Clarke was awarded the Diploma of Excellence during Schmuck 1998, won the Sotheby’s Award in 2007 and the Jerwood Contemporary Makers Prize in 2010. His work is in collections including the Victoria & Albert Museum, London and the Crafts Council Collection.