Mary McCleary
Encyclopedia
Mary McCleary is a contemporary American artist currently living and working in Nacogdoches Texas, where she is Stephen F. Austin State University
Regent's Professor of Art Emeritus. She is primarily known for her 3-D collages.
and her M.F.A. in graphics from the University of Oklahoma
. From 1975 to 2005, she taught art at Stephen F. Austin State University
.
, and the San Antonio Museum of Art
. In a bid to strengthen its holdings of contemporary art, the newly opened Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, acquired The Falcon Cannot Hear the Falconer (2008) for an undisclosed amount. A haunting work depiciting domestic disaster, its "Complex assemblage...represents a home engulfed in flames. A young man in the foreground, his face patterned with color, stares outward, confronting the viewer as a witness to the tragedy."
Stephen F. Austin State University
Stephen F. Austin State University is a public university located in Nacogdoches, Texas, United States. Founded as a teachers' college in 1923, the university was named after one of Texas' founding fathers, Stephen F. Austin. Its campus resides on part of the homestead of another Texas founding...
Regent's Professor of Art Emeritus. She is primarily known for her 3-D collages.
Background
Born in Houston, she received her B.F.A. in printmaking and drawing from Texas Christian UniversityTexas Christian University
Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...
and her M.F.A. in graphics from the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
. From 1975 to 2005, she taught art at Stephen F. Austin State University
Stephen F. Austin State University
Stephen F. Austin State University is a public university located in Nacogdoches, Texas, United States. Founded as a teachers' college in 1923, the university was named after one of Texas' founding fathers, Stephen F. Austin. Its campus resides on part of the homestead of another Texas founding...
.
Career and Style
McCleary uses a variety of materials, including paint, glitter, foil, wire, mirrors, nails, glass, and other objects on heavy paper, to create her collages. The artist has credited her Christian faith as being influential in her work and has been quoted as expressing a particular interest in exploring the struggle between good and evil. She has stated her aim is to "Convey an intensity which the viewer finds compelling... Drawing my subject matter from history and literature, I like the irony of using materials that are often trivial, foolish, and temporal to express ideas of what is significant, timeless, and transcendent."Collections
McCleary's artworks are included in numerous public collections, including those of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the El Paso Museum of ArtEl Paso Museum of Art
Founded in 1959, The El Paso Museum of Art is located in downtown El Paso, Texas. First accredited in 1972, it is the only accredited art museum within a 250 mile radius and serves approximately 100,000 visitors per year. A new building was completed in 1998...
, and the San Antonio Museum of Art
San Antonio Museum of Art
The San Antonio Museum of Art is a museum in San Antonio, Texas. In the early 1970s, plans were initiated to purchase the historic Lone Star Brewery complex for conversion into the San Antonio Museum of Art and following a $7.2 million renovation, the San Antonio Museum of Art opened to the...
. In a bid to strengthen its holdings of contemporary art, the newly opened Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, acquired The Falcon Cannot Hear the Falconer (2008) for an undisclosed amount. A haunting work depiciting domestic disaster, its "Complex assemblage...represents a home engulfed in flames. A young man in the foreground, his face patterned with color, stares outward, confronting the viewer as a witness to the tragedy."