Artist: Bede Clarke
Bede Clarke, MISSOURI
ARTIST BIO
Bede Clarke is Professor Emeritus, University of Missouri-Columbia, having taught at Missouri 1992- 2021. He received his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa (1990) and a BFA from Eckerd College (1982). Bede’s work is found in collections in the U.S. and abroad, such as: Taipei County Yingke Ceramics Museum, Ichon World Ceramic Center, South Bend Museum of Art, Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Martin Museum of Art and Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art.
Bede maintains a studio in Columbia, Missouri where he produces his work. Recent exhibits include: Muskegon Museum of Art, Dennis Museum Center, Lawrence Art Center, NCECA 60th Anniversary Exhibition, Rueben Saunder Gallery and Leppa-Rattner Museum of Art.
Bede has conducted over 100 workshops and lectures around the country and internationally. Awards have included:
• Kansas City Artist Coalition Lighton International Artist Exchange Award
• Sturt Australian Contemporary Craft Center Residency Award
• Fletcher Challenge Ceramic Award, New Zealand
• Kennedy Center Fellowship for Teachers of the Arts
• University of Missouri Byler Distinguished Professor Award
EDUCATION
MFA, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa (1990)
BFA, from Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida (1982)
PROFESSIONAL:
Professor Emeritus, University of Missouri, 2021-Present
Professor of Art, University of Missouri, 1992-2021
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBTIONS
Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, MO, 2026
Schaller Gallery, St. Joseph, MI, 2024
Belger Crane Yard Studios, Kansas City, MO 2018
Schaller Gallery, St. Joseph, MI, 2018
Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley, Kansas City, MO, 2016
Crimson Laurel Gallery, Bakersville, NC, 2015
Museum of Contemporary Art, UNF Gallery, Jacksonville, Florida, 2014
Red Lodge Clay Center, Red Lodge, MT, 2011
Red Star Studios, Kansas City, MO (2008)
St. Louis Community College at Forest Park, St. Louis, MO, (2008)
Wichita Center for the Arts, Wichita, KS, (2007)
Roswell Art Center West, Roswell, GA, (2006)
Red Star Studios, Kansas City, Missouri (2005)
Alma Thomas Fine Arts Center, Southwestern University, Georgetown, TX (2004)
Target Gallery, St. John’s University Art Center, Collegeville, MN (2004)
Burroughs Gallery, East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C. (2003)
Iowa Weslyan College, Mt. Pleasant, IA, (2002)
Baylor University Art Department Gallery, Waco, TX, (2000)
Elliot Smith Contemporary Art, St. Louis, MO, (1999)
Taipei County Cultural Center, Taipei County, Taiwan, (1998)
Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO (1998)
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Shaping Clay to Shape the Future: NCECA 60th Anniversary Exhibition, 2026 NCECA Conference, Detroit Michigan (2026)
Cups, Muskegon Museum of Art, national invitational, Muskegan, MI
Wichita National Ceramics Invitational, Rueben Saunders Gallery, Wichita, KS (2024)
Elemental: Fine Crafts from the Collection, permanent collection exhibition, Leppa-Rattner Museum of Art, Tarpon Springs, Florida (2024)
Cedar Creek Gallery National Teapot Show XI, Cedar Creek Gallery, Creedmore, NC, 2023
Clay Currents, national invitational, Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita State University,
Wichita, KS (2019)
Wood, Soda, Salt: Atmospheric Dynamics, Whitney Center for the Arts, Sheridan College, Sheridan WY, (2018)
Out of the Ashes: Notre Dame Ceramic Art Symposium Exhibition, Snite Museum of Art, Notre Dame University, South Bend Museum of Art, South Bend, IN, (2017)
Making it in the Crafts II, The Art Museum of Greater Lafayette, Lafayette, IN (2014)
2012 Taiwan Ceramics Biennale, Yingge Ceramics Museum (Taipei) and Kaohsiung Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Belin-Blank Honors Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Goldfarb School of Nursing, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
University of St. Francis, Fort Wayne, IN
University of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, AZ
Ichon World Ceramic Center, Kyongi Province, Korea
Taipei County Yingke Ceramics Museum, Taipei County, Taiwan
Crocker Museum of Art, Sydney Swindler Collection, Sacramento, CA
Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wisconsin
Daum Museum, State Fair Community College, Sedalia, Missouri
Crocker Museum of Art, Sydney Swidler Collection, Sacramento, CA
The Dwight M Holland Ceramics Collection, East Carolina University School of Art
Martin Museum of Fine Art, Baylor University, Waco, Texas
Bermuda National Gallery, Hamilton, Bermuda
The University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa City, Iowa
Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas
Lamar Dodd Art Center, LaGrange College, LaGrange, Georgia
Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, Topeka Kansas
Taipei County Cultural Center, Taipei, Taiwan
ASAI Architects, Kansas City, Missouri
H & R Block Corporate Headquarters, Kansas City, Missouri
SELECTED AWARDS
William H Byler Distinguished Professor Award, University of Missouri – Columbia (2008)
Lighton International Artists Exchange Program, Kansas City Artists Coalition, Kansas City, Missouri (2007)
Sturt Australian Contemporary Craft Center Residency Award, Mittagong, Australia (2007)
Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Research/Creative Activity in the Humanities and Fine Arts, University of Missouri – Columbia (2003)
Fletcher Challenge Ceramic Award, Merit Award, Auckland New Zealand (1996)
Kennedy Center Fellowship for Teachers of the Arts, Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C (1987)