Dawn Clements: That Feeling of Necessariness
Upper and Lower Gallery

Exhibition Catalog

“I understand the value of a diamond is worth more than a paper laundry ticket from getting shirts laundered,” she said, “but to me they’re equally important when I draw them.”

Dawn Clements

In honor of the two-year memorial of the death of Dawn Clements on December 4, we are pleased to present an exhibition of Dawn Clements' last works. This is the first time these works have been seen in public, and represent the last glimpse of her extraordinary career. Many of these paintings were created during her summer 2018 MacDowell residency. As always, Clements created work every day without fail, despite her continual treatment for cancer, never allowing fatigue or emotional duress to slow her production. Remarkably, she continued on her Numbers notebook, also exhibited here for the first time, until just days before her death, when she was no longer able to work.

The artistic achievement in these last works is apparent. We see Clements working at the top of her creative powers, on both large and small scale, always with an artistic mandate or set of rules to be adhered to. The persistent and unflinching study of her condition, the humility and humanity of these works, and their stunning beauty, create a vibrant finality, as well as a testimony of hope for anyone who has ever been through a serious illness, or been witness to someone with an illness. These works offer a sense of hope and resilience, and are a stunning affirmation of the vibrancy of the human spirit. While they stand for endurance, they also speak of the continuation of the human spirit until the very end.

It is with great pride that we present these works in honor of that spirit.

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