Originally from Joplin, Missouri, Clay Woolery graduated from both the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and Tufts University in 2018 with a BFA from the former and a BA in Architectural Studies from the latter. They currently work as an art handler for Clark Fine Arts Services in Newton, MA.
Statement
Woolery is an artist preoccupied with the symbolic essence of the human form. Working primarily in pastel chalk on black fields, the form is isolated in order to abstract and conjure gestures, actions, and relationships between parts of the body. Bright pigments and interlocking marks constitute the visual language of the series, where the movement and specific action of figures can be understood as its own form of mark making. Rather than portray specific individuals, the often faceless figures generate their own personality through their gestures, becoming embodied avatars for the specific act, and all the moral and societal baggage associated with the activity.
Instagram: @claywoolery
images of work
