Philip Clairmont

Clairmont was born in Nelson in 1949 and attended Nelson College from 1963 to 1966. He studied in Christchurch under Rudolf Gopas, graduating from the Canterbury School of Fine Arts in 1970. In 1973 he received a Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council grant, and in 1981 he represented New Zealand (alongside Tony Fomison) at the 13th International Festival of Painting in France.

Clairmont had his first solo exhibition in Christchurch in 1970 and participated in over 25 individual and more than 65 group exhibitions throughout New Zealand. He also contributed to several underground magazines, including Uncool and Ferret.

Clairmont’s early influences include Francisco Goya, Vincent van Gogh and Francis Bacon alongside German Expressionist artists Max Beckmann and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Whilst these influences are evident in Clairmont’s treatment of strong colours and distorted forms, he also seemed to emerge fully formed from art school, ready to exhibit his own mature, individual style. Clairmont was also influenced by, and had a strong influence on, fellow Christchurch painters Tony Fomison and Allen Maddox. Sometimes referred to as ‘The Three Musketeers’ or ‘The Wild Boys,’ they each made their presence unmistakably known during this period.

Characteristic of Expressionist artists, Clairmont wove his personal life and times into his art. As Clairmont once inscribed into his print, “art is my life.” [1] His self-portraits are particularly revealing, often closely scrutinising himself in a mirror in order to paint his own likeness. His works have a rather unsettling, energetic power, immediately recognisable by their vivid yellows, reds and heavy black outlines. With a keen interest in ambiguity, Clairmont worked to create disrupted, emotionally charged and somewhat difficult images through anthropomorphising domestic objects that blend subject, form and colour.

Clairmont’s tragic and untimely death by suicide at just 34 has had a profound impact on how his works have been read. Though his career was brief, his impact on New Zealand art has been immense and his work continues to hold value, magic and mystery. His work is held in all major public galleries, as well as many prestigious private and corporate collections throughout the country.

Gow Langsford Gallery is proud to now be representing The Clairmont Estate in 2025, which is managed by the artist’s son Orlando Clairmont and advised by New Zealand art consultant Mary Vavasour and author Martin Edmond.

[1] Inscribed on the bottom of the Mixed Mulch group exhibition poster, Closet Artists Gallery c.1979