Clare De Mayo

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2010 'Marks of Life' Event Horizon Gallery, Katoomba
2008 'Image-3' Blackheath Art Society
2002 ‘The Church’ multi-media artwork/event, Waitati, Dunedin, New Zealand
1996 Braemar Gallery, Springwood ‘Forces and Elements’
1994 Wentworth Falls School of Arts ‘Elemental Spirits’
1991 Green Iguana Cafe, Newtown ‘Wrestling with Angels’
1988 Kelly St Kolektiv Gallery, Ultimo ‘Vantage Point’
1983 James Harvey Gallery, Newtown ‘Portraits’
1982 James Harvey Gallery, Newtown ‘Love me, love my Dog’,War Memorial Gallery of Fine Arts Sydney University, Glebe.
1981 Toucan Cafe Restaurant, Glebe

GROUP SHOWS

Exhibited in numerous group shows and exhibitions including Artstreet Katoomba; Artfest Winmalee; Renaissance Gallery, New Zealand; Lurline Gallery, Katoomba; Oz Art, Katoomba; City Art Alumni Show, Ivan Dougherty Gallery; Art Education Society Exhibition; Mosman Art Prize; Hunters Hill Art Exhibition; Sutherland Shire Art Prize

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

2002 Master of Fine Arts, Dunedin
1988 Graduate Diploma in Education, (Art, Secondary), Sydney
1984 Bachelor of Arts, Sydney
1982 Graduate Diploma in Professional Art Studies, Sydney
1980 Diploma in Art, Sydney

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

2008-1989 Teaching Art at all levels of education: from Guest lecturer and tutor at Otago Polytechnic (NZ) (2002-00), to TAFE teacher (97-90) of painting, drawing and art history, to secondary and primary art education.

OTHER EMPLOYMENT

2011-1983: Costume maker/designer for various theatre companies including Wildfire Theatre, Tumbl;eweed Theatre, Australian Opera, Sydney Dance Company, NIDA, Regent Theatre Trust Otago, Rocks Players, New Theatre Newtown.
1997-1983 Workshop leader and facilitator, Gifted and Talented Arts Camp, Vacation Care Holiday centres, Adult Education centres.

CURRICULUM VITAE

Clare De Mayo grew up in the beach suburb of Cronulla, which instilled in her a love of the physical environment and a certain sense of longing for a cultural climate more akin to her creative inclinations…. sojourning in Inner City Sydney and living for 6 years in Dunedin, New Zealand have been part of this quest. She now resides in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.

In her recent mixed media work and life drawings, Clare explores the relationship our bodies have to fabric. Transcending cultural mores and changing fashions, we are protected by it, adorned with it, we express ourselves with it, we gain privacy through it.

A costume designer as well as a fine artist, Clare draws from a visual vocabulary of texture, colour and movement expressed through paint, ink and fabric.

Clare De Mayo completed her initial Fine Art studies at Alexander Mackie, which is now the College of Fine Art (UNSW). She majored in painting, and also studied textiles, ceramics and drawing. She has held 11 solo exhibitions of her works and also participated in numerous group exhibitions. She has supported her painting practice as an Arts educator in Art Schools, TAFE Colleges and secondary and primary schools, and also as a costume maker and designer for various theatre companies in Sydney and New Zealand.

Clare’s painting style is strongly influenced by the post impressionists, expressionists and Abstract Expressionists: Matisse, DeKooning, Pollack, Klimpt, Rothko. Clare uses a variety of media, including fabric, house paint, pastel and fabric printing ink. Clare aims to capture the atmosphere and ‘moment’ in each piece, to instill an element of emotional truth into her work.

email	clarelhdm@yahoo.com
phone	0418 619 017 or (02) 6352 4154