Baker Artist Portfolios

Claudia McDonough is an artist drawn to the interplay of memory, emotion, and material, exploring how each creates the conditions for the other to exist. Materials are central to her process, aligning with the emotional core of each piece and shaping its resonance and form. Her work gravitates toward spaces where trauma resides—both personal and collective—illuminating how these experiences shape us in ways we often struggle to recognize. Between material and feeling, her pieces convey the weight of sorrow, the residue of memory, and the strength that emerges from our deepest fractures. Through her art, McDonough aims to create spaces for engaging with what is deeply felt and remembered, honoring a quiet resilience we all carry.

Born in Athens, Greece, to a diplomat’s family, McDonough received her BA from Hampshire College in Massachusetts and her MFA from Southern Methodist University in Texas in 1988. She has been awarded multiple Maryland State Arts Council Artist Grants and participated in residencies at the BEMIS Center for Contemporary Art (Omaha, NE) and School 33 Art Center (Baltimore, MD). Her work has been exhibited nationally at 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 the Winston-Salem Journal.