18.08.25
Time Well Spent
Jake Clark:
Shaping Time Through Clay
Jake Clark, the Australian born New York based ceramicist, reflects on what time well spent means to him.
Jake Clark:
In the August chapter of Time Well Spent — our series celebrating those who spend time as beautifully as they keep it — we visit the Brooklyn studio of Australian artist and ceramicist Jake Clark.
Jake, who was inspired by the work of Keith Haring, moved to New York to begin his career as a self-taught artist. He has quickly become a cult-favorite, art world sensation with work appearing in important contemporary collections and commissions including a holiday installation for the Art Production Fund at Rockefeller Center.
Clark’s work, which was inspired by his interest in drawing, graffiti, and horticulture, draws upon iconic and graphic design – from restaurants to hotels to stores. He uses commercial imagery and design to create vessels that celebrate the world around him. And in every curve, texture, and glaze, you find time: stretched, marked, and made meaningful on a finished work. His work is a direct reflection of how Jake lives and how he spends time well.
It is the Urban Jürgensen philosophy that the way we keep time inspires how we spend it. We asked Jake Clark a few questions to learn more about him and what it means to use and spend time with passion, interest, joy, and meaning:
Time well spent
What does Time Well Spent mean in your life?
Time well spent for me means being productive in the studio so I can spend time with my kids in the afternoon each day watching them grow and discover.
What do you do to feel most present?
To feel most present I have to stop and look around me and where I am and just take it in for everything it is at that moment.
How do you like to begin your day?
To start the day I take Valentine, the dog, and my son for a walk around the neighbourhood at around 7am before everyone else is up.
If you could time travel to a different point in history, when would it be?
If I could time travel it would be back to the 70s and 80s in New York.
Where are the places you most love to spend time?
The place I love to spend the most time is at my studio for sure but if not there, Montauk as it feels like a piece of Australia there. Saint Paul de Vence in France I also love to spend time, as well as Rome.
About me
When do you feel most like yourself?
I feel most myself when I’m in the studio with music on and I’m working on a new piece. And I can just let the music and work take me somewhere.
What is your very first memory?
My very first memory is of spending time with my grandparents and them taking me to the botanical gardens in Melbourne where I’m from originally.
What is your greatest fear?
My greatest fear is running out of time for anything.
What is your greatest regret?
I don’t have a greatest regret as I don’t regret anything I’ve done as it led me to exactly where I am now.
Fill in the blank
I can’t believe I got away with:
Everything I did in my teens.
A risk I took that changed my life:
Is moving properly to New York instead of just dipping my toes in. We moved the whole family and dog over here so I could be close to everything for work
August 18, 2025
By Jake Clark
