Baker Artist Portfolios

Born in Athens, Greece, Claudia McDonough is the daughter of a diplomat. She received her BA from Hampshire College in Massachusetts and her MFA from Southern Methodist University in Texas in 1988. Claudia moved to Baltimore in 1991 and has since been awarded multiple Maryland State Arts Council Artist Grants. She has been an artist-in-residence at the BEMIS Center for Contemporary Art Residency (Omaha, NE) and School 33 Art Center Residency (Baltimore, MD).

Claudia’s work explores the intricate relationship between memory, emotion, and material, revealing the often-overlooked, intimate dimensions of our lives. She is deeply attuned to how these elements interact, each providing the conditions for the other to exist. For Claudia, materials are not just tools but co-creators, shaping the emotional resonance of each piece while carrying the weight of the narratives they hold. Her work gives form to what is present yet intangible: the residue of memory, the weight of sorrow, and the strength that emerges from life’s fractures.

Her work has been exhibited nationally in venues such as Area 405 (Baltimore, MD), Salem College (Winston-Salem, NC), Arlington Museum of Art (Arlington, TX), and the Meadows Museum (Dallas, TX). It has been reviewed in publications including The Baltimore Sun, City Paper, Winston-Salem Monthly, and Winston-Salem Journal.