Claudia Drake Biography

Claudia Drake is an internationally renowned artist. Her collage prints have been exhibited across the globe, including California, New York, France, Italy, Russia and New Zealand. Her work is tied to several art movements, including Surrealism. Both antique and modern, Drake's work speaks of multiple eras, each embedded in the recognisable voice of this contemporary artist.

With a strict monochrome pallet, Drake’s collages hint of antique books and untold stories. She attributes this narrative quality to an extensive study of Art History and Literature - Drake spent her university years tracing the dialogs of contemporary, modern, and antique art. Drake attributes the legacy of the early Surrealists, particularly Max Ernst and Rene Magritte, as the first spark for her own surreal explorations.

Drake’s collages are Victorian dreamscapes, Jungian travels, and digital hybrids. Each collage print is the product of antique ephemera paired with new technology. Early 20th century engravings are scanned, digitised, then interwoven in chance arrangements, which are then meticulously reworked to form a new whole. Drake employs a variety of techniques on each work, digitally cutting, painting, and pasting parts from a series of found and created pieces. Her art is the first to fully harness this digital arsenal on engravings; she describes the process as 'Urgent Alchemy'.