ARTIST INFO
DAVID CLEMONS
Penland, NC
davidharperclemons.com
METALS | Jewelry and sculpture
Penland Affiliation | Penland Instructor 2010, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020
Artist Information | Studio artist; education: MFA San Diego State University (CA), BFA University of Texas at Austin (TX); teaching: Penland School of Craft (NC), University of Arkansas (AR), San Diego State University (CA), Austin Community College (TX); residencies: Penland Winter Residency 2012, 2014, University of Arkansas, Oregon College of Art and Craft; exhibitions: National Ornamental Metal Museum (TN), Penland Gallery (NC), Center for Contemporary Craft (TX), Center for Craft (NC), Baltimore Jewelry Center (MD); awards: 2021 John Renwick Alliance Masters of the Medium.
Artist Bio | David was born in El Paso, Texas. He began his undergraduate career attending Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, pursuing a degree program in Biology Art. He attended the program for two years before returning to Austin to complete his BFA at the University of Texas in Austin, with a primary emphasis on painting. He earned his MFA in Metalsmithing in 2007 from San Diego State University. David taught in the art department at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock, Arkansas, for ten years, where he was responsible for creating and overseeing the metalsmithing and jewelry department.
Much of his work embraces the craft of metalsmithing and its collected history of techniques and objects. The resulting works rendered in metal, mixed media, and handmade artist books are vehicles to communicate ideas surrounding identity, narrative, and forays into material and process-based work. He has exhibited in numerous exhibitions including Craft in America: Expanding Traditions (PBS Series), Different Tempers: Jewelry & Blacksmithing (Center for Craft, NC), and has work in the permanent collections of the Arkansas Art Center, Metal Museum (TN), and the Yale Contemporary Craft Museum (CT). David was honored in 2021 by the James Renwick Alliance (DC) as a Master of the Medium, which is a prestigious Biennial Award that has honored some of the most significant artists in American Craft.
