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Picture

Claire McArdle

Contemporary Figurative Sculpture in Marble, Bronze and Terra Cotta
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MYTHOS IV(FRONT) : TERRA COTTA 25 x 5 x5
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MYTHOS IV(SIDE) : TERRA COTTA 25 x 5 x5
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MYTHOS IV : TERRA COTTA 25 x 5 x5

Front of abstract sculpture of female body
Back of abstract sculpture of female body

Torso Nicole: Italian Calacatta Marble, 24k Gold Leaf 39x9x9

Abstracted sculpture of woman reaching upward
"Isadora" bronze 27x6x6
Abstract bronze sculpture of female body
"Sappho" bronze (front) 26x6x6
Abstract bronze sculpture of female body
"Sappho""bronze (back) 26x6x6
Abstract sculpture of female body
"Torso Nicole" Calacatta Marble 39x9x9
Bronze bust of woman
Nipote #6 Quarter View
Bronze bust of woman in side view
Nipote#6 Profile
Bronze bust of a woman
Nipote #7 Front
Side view of bronze bust of a woman
Nipote #7 Quarter View
Front view of abstract sculpture of female body
"Torso 17-12" terra cotta and terra sigilatta (Front) 25x7x7
Back view of abstract sculpture of female body
"Torso 17-12" terra cotta and terra sigilatta (Back) 25x7x7
Abstract bronze sculpture of a woman
"Regina" 26x6x6

Monumental Commissions

“As the figures emerge from the material there is a representation of the feminine archetype and a sensuousness that both females and marble share. I strive to create a harmony between the ethereal form with the earthly material, leaving evidence of the process with the marks of my hands and tools. Humans have sculpted female torsos in this way since prehistoric times, perhaps in a ritualistic way. I also evoke this universal archetype as I aim to create timeless works that resonate with spirituality and connects us to our ancestors.”-Claire McArdle
Learn More About Claire McArdle
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Claire McArdle grew up in the Washington DC area where she began studying Art in high school. Her regular trips to the National museums at a young age exposed her to a wide variety of sculpture from around the world.  After earning a Bachelor in Fine Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University, she moved to Carrara, Italy in 1988 to work in the studios among the master Italian artisans, artigiani and learned centuries-old production techniques. She worked among international sculptors that have been drawn to the region rich in sculpture traditions who share a unique camaraderie.

She was selected to carve monumental works on-site for two public parks in Japan. Her works are in private and public collections throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. McArdle’s commissions for public, educational, and religious institutions include monumental works for Spring Hill College, Mobile, AL, Marian House, Baltimore, MD, The Holton-Arms School, Bethesda, MD, St. Bede, Williamsburg, VA, Holy Trinity Church, Washington, DC, Holy Redeemer College, Washington, DC as well as many private commissions.
 
McArdle’s sculptures synthesize elements of traditional classical sculpture with aesthetic qualities found in ancient sculpture, prehistoric art and the European modern masters. She was included in an exhibit in 2017 Rodin and the Contemporary Figurative Tradition, curated by Joseph Bercherer at the Frederik Mejer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, MI.

She maintains a studio in Colorado, where she lives with her husband on their ranch on the front range of the Rocky Mountains, and travels to Italy where she sources the marble and clay used in her sculptures.

ARTIST"S STATEMENT
My interest in art and mythology began as a child and my inspiration from artifacts from early civilizations including sculptures of animals and the human form dating back to 38,000 bce. They are timeless treasures that continue to have a strong aesthetic in contemporary time. My impulse to create sculpture from the earth satisfies an urge deep within my psyche and a connection with other humans past and present. 
Drawn to the art and artifacts from prehistoric and the ancient world, I have recognized the cross-cultural similarities abound in the archetypes and symbolism in art binding us together as one species, with common ancestors. The symbolism created by artists, therefore, connects us through the arts. In my process, I explore the experiences of human emotion, our connection to the land, animals and the divine. The female torso, a common theme, sculpted in marble, terra cotta and bronze honors the sanctity of feminine archetypes.
Resume
EDUCATION 
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, BFA 1981

PUBLIC/CORPORATE COLLECTIONS 
RB Properties, Inc., Washington, DC The Lombardy Hotel, Washington, DC The Potomac Group, Washington, DC Mine City, Mine, Japan
Mino City Ceramics Collection, Mino Japan Applied Planning International, Annapolis, MD TKF Foundation, Annapolis, MD
The Kerns Group Architects, Arlington, VA Lucas and Associates, AIA, Baltimore, MD Yashiro City, "Stellar Park", Yashiro, Japan Huneke & Associates, Seattle, WA
Fortune Design, Seattle, WA
A.G. Edwards, Edmonds, WA Quiet Waters Park, Annapolis, MD Morgan/Gerard, Annapolis, MD

COMMISSIONS Private/Public 
Nancy and David Hughart, Seattle, WA 2010
ABODE/ Fern Santini, Austin, Texas, 2009
RB Properties Inc., Lombardy Hotel, Washington, DC 2006, 2007, 2008,2010 Spring Hill College, Mobile, Alabama, 2004, 2005
Saint Bede Church, Williamsburg, VA, 2003
Marian House, Baltimore, MD, 2002
John and Mary Lou Barter, Kiawha Island, SC 2001
The Holton-Arms School, Bethesda, MD, 2000
Holy Trinity Church, Washington, DC, 1999
Holy Redeemer College, Washington, DC 1997

PERSONAL EXHIBITIONS
Taking Wing
, Ellsworth Gallery, Santa Fe, NM June-August, 2017
Fine Art Associates, Boulder, CO January- May 2015
Anima Mundi, Chaney and Martino Galleries, Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, Annapolis, MD, 2013
“Mysterium”, Darnell Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM, 2011 “Preludes”, International Visons Gallery, Washington, DC, 2010
“Fragments”, Darnell Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM 2010
“Touching the Earth: Muses and Initiates”, Darnell Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM, 2009
“Claire McArdle Sculpture w Frank Sampson Painting”, Canyon Gallery, Boulder, CO
2009
“Myth and Mystery”, Darnell Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM, 2008
“Myth and Mystery: Sculpture and Drawings”, Old Firehouse Art Center, Longmont, CO 2008 "Spirits Rising: An Evening of Dance / Sculpture / Poetry",Word Dance
Theater, choreography by Ruth St. Denis, Isadora Duncan, Cynthia Word,
Sculpture by Claire McArdle, poetry by Sappho and Dance with Ingrid Zimmer,
Historic Dumbarton Church, Washington, DC, 2007
“Featured Sculpture”, Harbor Square Gallery, Rockland, ME 2007
“The Horse”, International Visions Gallery, Washington, DC 2006
“Passages”, Carla Massoni Gallery, Carla Massoni Gallery, Chestertown, MD 2004
“New Work: Musica Ricercata”, Carla Massoni Gallery, Chestertown, MD 2003
"Fire and Earth", International Visions Gallery, Washington, DC 2000
Keith Lipert Gallery, Washington, DC 1997
Ludmilla Baczynsky, Gallery, New York, NY 1996
Ira Pinto Gallery, Annapolis, MD 1997
West Annapolis Gallery, Annapolis, MD 1995
Claire McArdle Gallery, Galleries 1054, Washington, DC 1995,1994, 1993,1992
​Zenith Gallery, Washington, DC 1992

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 

2017
LA Art Show
, Los Angeles, CA, January, 2017
Artist Choice, Ellsworth Gallery,Santa Fe, NM
Gallery Artists Exhibition, Artist Proof Gallery, Washington, DC 20007 2016
Mountain Standard Clay, 
Foothills Art Center, Golden, CO
Menagerie, Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, MD
Wintertide, Carla Massoni Gallery, Chestertown, MD

2015
Gallery Artists Winter Exhibition, 
Artist Proof Gallery, Washington, DC
Far Reaches, Claire McArdle, Kathyrn Stedham, Elise Ansel, Ellsworth Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Summer Sizzle, Carla Massoni Gallery, Chestertown, MD
Sculpture on the Blue, Breckenridge, CO
Sanctuary, Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery at the Smith Center, Washington, DC
Body // Water, Carla Massoni Gallery, Chestertown, MD
Gallery Artists, New Works, Gardner Colby Gallery, Naples, FL
On the Brink, Ellsworth Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Gallery Artists, Artist Proof Gallery, Washington, DC
Gallery Artists, Worrell Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Gallery Artists, Martin Gallery, Charleston, SC

2014
L < M, 
less is more: small works in a great space,The Mitchell Gallery St. John's College Annapolis, MD
Colorado Clay 2014, Foothills Art Center, Golden, CO Best in Show Coors Western Art Show, National Western Stock Show, Denver, CO Figures and Fantasies, Gardner Colby Gallery, Naples, FL

​2013
Coors Western Art Show, National Western Stock Show, Denver, CO
In House, Annual Artists-in-Residence Exhibit, Chaney Gallery, 2nd floor, Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, Annapolis, MD
Ancient Ways, Gardner Colby Gallery, Naples, FL

2012 
“Fifteen”, International Visions Gallery, Washington, DC Shaw Cramer Gallery, Martha’s Vineyard, MA
Martin Gallery, Charleston, SC 
​Gardner Colby Galery, Naples, FL


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  • Home
  • Artists
    • Craig Nelson Paintings
    • William Crosby Abstract Landscapes
    • Leo E. Osborne Sculpture and Paintings
      • Leo E. Osborne Wood Burl Sculpture
      • Leo E. Osborne Acrylusion on Gold Leaf Paintings
      • Leo E. Osborne Limited Edition Bronze
    • Claire McArdle Figurative Sculpture
    • Jennifer Spencer Paintings
    • Langford Barksdale Abstracts
    • David Imlay Paintings
    • Bernie Weston Paintings
    • Joan Dumouchel Paintings
    • Anna Nelson Paintings
    • Ana Carolina Pesce Imlay Mixed Media
    • Michael Cone Photographs
    • Danae Bennett Miller Sculpture
    • Mitch S. Billis Bronzes
    • Steve Reinmuth Sculpture
    • James Rivington Pyne Sculpture
    • Jeff Sugarman Contemporary Ceramics
    • Custom Jewelry Designs by Glade Sarbach Davis
    • Nancy Linkin
    • Sidney Soriano
    • Salatino-Gandolfo Art Glass
  • Shop the Collections
  • Contact
  • About Stafford Gallery
  • Gallery Blog
  • Large Scale Sculpture