Richard Cleaver's portfolio

About richard

Richard Cleaver has been carving figures out of clay for over thirty-five years . He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art and a Master of Arts from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee . The artist has exhibited across the nation, including solo exhibitions at the Baltimore Museum of Art (MD), American University Museum (D.C.), Kohler Arts Center (WI), The Noyes Museum (NJ), Bernice Steinbaum Gallery (New York and Miami), and Franz Bader Gallery (D.C.).
Group exhibitions include Peabody Essex Museum (Salem, MA), International Sculpture Center(D.C… more

See 2010 $25,000 Mary Sawyers Baker Prize Winning Portfolio

View richard's Resume

Recent Work

These images integrate ceramic, which is the primary medium, with wood, fresh water pearls, semi-precious stones, gold leaf and oil paint. They are made complete with secret compartments which serve as hiding places for multiple and often times personal meanings. My recent work is based on narratives drawn from personal and historical events that are overlapped with subconscious images. The figures are like actors on a stage, enigmatic yet tense while being enveloped or encrusted within layers of overgrowth concealing a world within.

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Cult of the Tzar III 2009 21" h x 14" w x 7" d
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Cult of the Tzar III (detail of heads open)
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Lizzie Borden, August Morning, 1892 2009 21"h x 14" w x 7" d
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Lizzie Borden, August Morning, 1892 (detail of revolving head)
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Ganymede (opened folding triptych) 18" h x 24" w x 3.5" d
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Ganymede (detail)
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Night 2009 13 1/4" h x 10 1/2" w x 6" d
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Night (detail)
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Hathor 2009 33" h x 8" w x 7" d
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Hathor (detail)

Recent Work

These sculptures integrate hand-built ceramic, which is the primary medium, with wood, fresh water pearls, crystal beads, and semi-precious stones. Surfaces are applied with gold leaf and painted with oil. Sculptures are made complete with secret compartments which serve as hiding places for multiple and often times personal meanings. My recent work is based on narratives drawn from personal and historical events that are overlapped with subconscious images. The figures are like actors on a stage, enigmatic yet tense while being enveloped or encrusted within layers of overgrowth concealing a world within.

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Gathering, Latrobe Springhouse (Baltimore Museum of Art installation) 108"h x 72" w x 66" d
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Gathering, Latrobe Springhouse (detail)
Verve, 2002

Bamboo, metal armature, and wire. 14' x 16' x 3.5' Site-specific installation, created for Johns Hopkins Universities Evergreen House. In order to bring people together to enjoy and promote the arts former Evergreen matron, Alice Warder Garrett converted the gymnasium into a private theater. Here she entertained friends with her own performances as well as hosted the Musical Art Quartet every spring and fall for nearly two decades. An arch stenciled by Leon Baskt, the celebrated set and costume designer for the Ballet Russes, acts as the facade for Alice's stage and is echoed throughout much of the architecture at Evergreen House. My outdoor theater for Alice reflects her verve and was inspired by the relationship between art and nature. Bamboo, which is known for its abundant growth and astonishing vitality, grows on the grounds at Evergreen House and symbolizes to me Alice's long-standing promotion of the arts in Baltimore and beyond. Performance by dancer Andrea Workman.
Continuity

ink and oil on panel 24" x 48"
St Elmo's Fire

Acrylic and latex on wood, charcoal on wall. Dimensions variable.
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Dreamer (back view)
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Dreamer (head open)
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Wolf's-bane 27" h x 27" w x 16" d
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Wolf's-bane (detail)
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Wolf's-bane (head open)

More Recent Work

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Sondheim Prize installation (Baltimore Museum of Art) 90" h x 96" w x 74" d
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Mars, God of War 26" h x 8" w x 5" d
Primary Concern (face/hands/legs) 2

acrylic on magazine page, ~8.5in x 11in
Conventions detail

Another group, a larger group, more spread out.
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Flora, Goddess of Fertility (body open)
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Family Fiction 20" h x 8" w x 4" d
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Family Fiction ( detail)
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Family Fiction (heads open)
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Head and Shoulders 11" h x 7"w x 4"d
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Head and Shoulders (head open)