About
Artist Statement
I continually investigate the precariousness of ‘reality’, which I believe begins at the fragile meeting points of belief and perception, certainty and doubt. The images that I research are all based on a preexisting story or myth, such as religious belief systems, governments, currencies, or politics. I believe that mapping represents the stories we tell ourselves about space, freedom of movement, land ownership and geo-politcal affiliations. Currency refers to the stories we tell around value and who has access to the flow of resources and who does not. The use of anatomincal imagery speaks to myths around the human body, gender, race, and ideals of beauty. By selecting, extracting, and decontextualizing imagery from found printed matter such as used books, old maps, and medical illustrations, I begin the tenuous process of transforming their mythology. I am particularly interested in gender and power constructs and focus on finding mythological or religious iconography that perpetuates traditional social roles. By physically cutting out and cutting
through these images, I hope to speak metaphorically to their fragility and subvert their lingering, often toxic symbolism. By layering assemblages of traditional mediums (oil on canvas, collage, or screenprint) combined with resin or extracted plastics, I explore the strange and beautiful juxtaposition of a nostalgic past and a hopeful future.
Biography
Meg Clerc is a visual artist working in collage and mixed media, exploring constructions of reality. She is a former Montessori educator who relocated to Washington, DC in 2015 after spending many years living abroad in Paris, Rome, Mexico, and Dubai.
Clerc holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in French and Communications, (Cum Laude) from La Salle University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Art History, (Summa Cum Laude) as well as Studio Art (Summa Cum Laude) from the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA.
In 2019, she founded Tour de Force, a grant-giving foundation awarding monthly grants to artists and art educators in the Washington, DC area. In 2020, she completed the Latela Curatorial Artist Course, Washington DC and won first prize in the 2D category for Prolgue: Red, White, and Blue in the Sadat Art for Peace Competition, University of Maryland College Park, Maryland, USA.
In 2024, Clerc completed a Master of Fine Arts degree at the Mount Royal School of Art (Multidisciplinary MFA), Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, USA. Her work is represented in the University of Maryland College Park, Maryland, USA as well as private collections in the USA and Switzerland. She lives and works in Washington DC.
Education
2024
Master of Fine Arts, Mount Royal School of Art (Multidisciplinary MFA), Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
2020
Bachelor of Arts, Studio Art, (Summa Cum Laude), University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
2019
Bachelor of Arts, Art History, (Summa Cum Laude), University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
1989
Bachelor of Arts, French and Communications, (Cum Laude), La Salle University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Awards
2020 First Prize (2D), Sadat Art for Peace Competition, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
Group Exhibitions
2024 MICA Grad Show III, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
2023 In Uncertainty We Trust, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
2023 The Experiment, Night Owl Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
2020 Sadat Art for Peace Competition, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
Collections
University of Maryland College Park, Maryland, USA
Private Collections in the USA and Switzerland
Outreach
2019 Founder and Director, Tour de Force Foundation, Washington DC, USA
Languages
English - Fluent
French - Fluent
Spanish - Proficient
Italian- Proficient