For over three decades, Sonya Clark has dedicated herself to exploring themes of history, race, and reconciliation. Her work employs the language of textiles, the politics of hair, and the material substance of objects to not only celebrate and foster community but also to address historical imbalances and highlight injustices. During her first residency at Tamarind Institute Clark continued to explore the cultural aspects of Black hair. Clark uses hair as a metric for measuring histories and as a means to amplify what is obscured, hidden, or whispered. Hair, for Clark, operates as a language, symbolizing the essence of being Black, encapsulating the enduring experiences of the Black community, and envisioning boundless possibilities for the future. The five lithographs she created during her time at Tamarind are profound and deeply personal.
In 1995, Clark earned her MFA in Fiber from the Cranbrook Academy of Art, marking the beginning of a journey that has garnered her widespread acclaim for her innovative artistic practice. Her work has been exhibited in over 500 museums and galleries in the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Australia. Clark’s artwork is held in the collections of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Museum of Fine Art in Houston, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, among many others. Clark is the recipient of numerous awards, including a United States Artist Fellowship, Anonymous Was a Woman Award, Rappaport Prize, Art Prize, and Art Matters Grant. She has been selected for residencies at Red Gate in Beijing, China; BAU Camargo in Cassis, France; the Rockefeller Foundation in Bellagio, Italy; a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship in Washington, DC; Civitella Ranieri in Umbertide, Italy; Yaddo in Saratoga Springs, New York; the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts; Indigo Arts in Portland, Maine; an Affiliate Fellowship at the American Academy in Rome, Italy; and Black Rock in Dakar, Senegal, among others.
The 2023 Artist Residency was supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
More Information
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Artforum
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