Mary McCleary
Mary McCleary | |
|---|---|
 The Falcon Cannot Hear the Falconer (2008), Mixed media collage on paper by Mary McCleary, courtesy of the artist & Moody Gallery, Collection of the Crystal Bridges Museum of Art, Bentonville, Arkansas | |
| Born | Born 1951 Nacogdoches Texas |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Texas Christian University University of Oklahoma |
| Known for | Printmaking, Collage |
| Awards | Art League Houston's 2011 'Texas Artist of the Year' |
Mary McCleary (born 1951) is a contemporary American artist currently living and working in Nacogdoches Texas, where she is Stephen F. Austin State University Regent's Professor of Art Emeritus.[1] She is primarily known for her "multi-layered, extremely complex, and detailed" figurative 3-D collages[2][3]
Background
Born in Houston, she received her B.F.A. in printmaking and drawing from Texas Christian University and her M.F.A. in graphics from the University of Oklahoma.[4] From 1975 to 2005, she taught art at Stephen F. Austin State University.[5]
Style and influences
McCleary began making collages in the 1970s.[6] In a 2009 interview in The Houston Chronicle she states: "I was a print maker all through school, and when I got out of college and started teaching, my work shifted, because for the first time I wasn't accountable to a teacher. Somehow the work evolved over a number of years, and I started gluing three-dimensional items onto my collages — cut-paper things that almost look like advent calendars."[7] Over the years, as her work evolved and became more figurative, the collages became "more complex and more detailed — the idea being to draw the viewer in, to give the viewer something to look at."[8] McCleary has used a variety of materials, including paint, glitter, foil, wire, mirrors, nails, glass, and other objects on heavy paper, to create her collages.[9]
Collections, exhibitions & awards
McCleary's artworks are included in numerous public collections, including those of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the El Paso Museum of Art, and the San Antonio Museum of Art.[10] In a bid to strengthen its holdings of contemporary art, the newly opened Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, acquired McCleary's The Falcon Cannot Hear the Falconer (2008) for an undisclosed sum.[11] A haunting work depicting domestic disaster, its "complex assemblage...represents a home engulfed in flames. A young man in the foreground, his face patterned with color, stares outward, confronting the viewer as a witness to the tragedy."[12]
McCleary has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in museums and galleries in two dozen states, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, and internationally in Russia and Mexico.[13] She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including a Mid-American Arts Alliance/ National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, recognition from the Texas Commission on the Arts "For her contribution and dedication to the arts in Texas," and Art League Houston's 'Texas Artist of the Year' for 2011.[14][15]
References
- ^ Crystal Bridges Acquires Contemporary Works www.artdaily.com February 26, 2010
- ^ Artist Mary McCleary discusses her work chron.com December 13, 2009
- ^ Texas Artist of the Year www.artleaguehouston.org September 09, 2011
- ^ Arnet.com biography www.artnet.com Website Copyright 2011
- ^ Arnet.com biography www.artnet.com Website Copyright 2011
- ^ Artist Mary McCleary discusses her work chron.com December 13, 2009
- ^ Artist Mary McCleary discusses her work chron.com December 13, 2009
- ^ Artist Mary McCleary discusses her work chron.com December 13, 2009
- ^ Texas Artist of the Year www.artleaguehouston.org September 09, 2011
- ^ Crystal Bridges Acquires Contemporary Works designtaxi.com February 26, 2010
- ^ Crystal Bridges Acquires Contemporary Works www.artdaily.com February 26, 2010
- ^ Crystal Bridges Acquires Contemporary Works designtaxi.com February 26, 2010
- ^ Texas Artist of the Year www.artleaguehouston.org September 09, 2011
- ^ Crystal Bridges Acquires Contemporary Works www.artdaily.com February 26, 2010
- ^ Texas Artist of the Year www.artleaguehouston.org September 09, 2011