Bio
Charles Clary, he/him, was born in 1980 in Morristown, Tennessee. He received his BFA in painting with honors from Middle Tennessee State University and his MFA in painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design. He has shown in exhibitions at Galerie Evolution-Pierre Cardin in Paris, France, The Netherlands’ CODA Museum Paper Biennial in 2021, The Shanghai Paper Biennial in 2021, Art of Paper Fair in New York City, and many other international, national, and regional juried, group, solo, and museum exhibitions. Clary won Top Prize at the 2016 ArtFields Competition in Lake City, SC, and in 2019 he won both People’s Choice Award for 2D and the Merit Prize at ArtFields. He recently sold three commissioned pieces to Google corporate offices, and he was named the HTC Distinguished Teacher-Scholar at Coastal Carolina University in 2022, the highest award bestowed upon a faculty member by the university. Clary has been featured in numerous print and Internet interviews including, Create!Magazine, Candyfloss, This is Colossal, WIRED magazine (US and UK), Hi Fructose, Beautiful Deay, and Bluecanvas Magazine. He has also been featured in publications including 500 Paper Objects, Paper Works, Paper Art, Papercraft 2, and PUSH: Paper.
Charles has exhibited regionally, nationally, and internationally in numerous solo and group shows, is represented by Paradigm Gallery+ Studio in Philadelphia, and R02 Gallery in Dallas, Texas. Clary currently lives and works in Conway, South Carolina, where he is an Associate Professor of Studio Art and Foundations Coordinator at Coastal Carolina University.
Statement
My drywall deconstructions stem from the loss of both my mother and father in 2013 that takes on a reconciliatory tone. This work moves on from the grief and trauma and settles into the notion of forgiveness and remission from the guilt, trauma, and grief associated with my mourning process. Childhood trauma and abuse is an experience many of us relate to in one way or another. My work seeks to investigate these moments not as abhorrent events that are insurmountable, but as regrettable occurrences that changed the trajectory of who I am and where I am today. By mimicking and encapsulating that trauma within distressed drywall panels, I fill that void with sculptures made from paper which is both fragile and flexible. Through this work, I draw a connection to the human psyche and the resilience we all have inside.
