Clara Grace Hoag was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She received two BFAs from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in 2009, and she recently received an MFA in Ceramics from the University of Georgia in Athens in 2013.
In her work, Clara uses the suggestion of structure—both architectural and social—to address issues of the human condition: how people are composed, how they compose the world around them, and how complex or elemental that world can be. She says, “Soaring skyscrapers, complex scaffolding, and accumulations of slum housing describe the complexity of 21st Century life—from the dynamic social constructions that keep our world running to the systemic problems that oppress us every day. Single buildings celebrate individuality or highlight the mundane; amalgamations of architecture create tenuous landscapes, where fragility and stability foil each other, constantly seeking balance.”
During her residency at HCCC, Clara plans to accomplish several goals. She intends to make her art more confrontational by increasing the scale of her work; she plans to use construction materials to make her sculptures more gravity defying; and she wants to continue developing her architectural language by integrating new materials, such as concrete, spray foam, plaster, wood, and metal, into each piece.
Clara has participated in group and solo shows in Illinois, Georgia, and Florida, and she is represented by three galleries in Illinois and North Carolina. She also plays a mean banjo! She will be with HCCC from March – August, 2014. To learn more about her work, visit https://claragracehoag.com/home.html.
