Artist: Bede Clarke

My goal in making this work has been to create quiet, simple pots, which like a good meal leave a healthy, full feeling. Pots like these have been my constant companions for forty years. They are forms and surfaces which I never grow tired of. They are rooted in ceramic history; yet, I hope they reflect a personal and individual quality of feeling. Above all, these pots are intended to be good to live with and interact with on a daily basis. They are made with others in mind. For me, good pots spring from compassion. My working method amounts to simply wishing the work well at each stage of creation. Always, I return to the clay trying to bring as much sincerity as I can muster to bear on the work.


EDUCATION
1990 MFA, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
1982 BFA, from Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida


PROFESSIONAL
1992-Present Professor of Art, University of Missouri


SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

Belger Crane Yard Studios, Kansas City, MO 2018

Schaller Gallery, St. Joseph, MI, 2018

Schaller Gallery, St. Joseph, MI, 2017

Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley, Kansas City, MO, 2016

Crimson Laurel Gallery, Bakersville, NC, 2015

Museum of Contemporary Art, UNF Gallery, Jacksonville, Florida, 2014

Schaller Gallery, St. Joseph, MI, 2013

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

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)

John Beckelman, Bede Clarke, Candice Methe, Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, NM (2016)

Ceramic Mind Field, Armory Art Center, West Palm Beach, FL (2015)

The Space Between, Fisher Gallery, Otterbein University, Westerville, OH, (2015)

Surface: Contemporary Ceramic Imagery, University of St. Francis, Fort Wayne, IN (2015)

Making it in the Crafts II, The Art Museum of Greater Lafayette, Lafayette, IN (2014)

University of Iowa Museum of Art School Programs Collection, Figge Museum, Davenport, Iowa (2014)

Contemporary Ceramics: Selected works from the Dean/Thelen Collection, Kirkwood 

Community College, Cedar Rapids, IA, 2013

2012 Taiwan Ceramics Biennale, Yingge Ceramics Museum (Taipei) and Kaohsiung Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan

American Pottery Festival Exhibition, national invitational, Northern Clay Center,

Minneapolis, MN  Curator: Karen McPherson, NCC (2012)

Uncommon Ground: Impact and Influence, The Arvada Center For the Arts and Humanities, Arvada, CO (2011)

Art of the Cup: Functional Comfort, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, LA (2011) The Vase and Beyond: The Sydney Swidler Collection of Ceramics, Crocker Museum of Art,

Sacramento, CA (2010)

The Infinite Teapot, Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, Ohio (2009)

Dichotomy, Atrium Gallery, Ball State University, Muncie, IN (2009)

Invitational Exhibition of 21st Century Iconographic Clayworks, Linfield College, McMinnville, OR (2009)

Utilitarian Clay V: Celebrate the Object, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN (2008)

Crossing Boundaries: Painting and Ceramics, Lacoste Gallery, Concord, MA (2008)

2007 NCECA Clay National Biennial Exhibition, Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Louisville, KY (2007)

Clay-Wood-Fire: An International Invitational Exhibition of Contemporary Wood-Fired Clay, Chemeeketa Community College, Salem, OR (2007)

2006 Sidney Myer Fund International Ceramics Award, Shepparton Art Gallery,

Shepparton, Victoria, Australia (2006)

International Wood Fire Exhibition, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ (2006)

2006 Ceramics Biennial Invitational, Parkland Art Gallery, Parkland College,

Champaign, IL

Legacy and Innovation in Contemporary Clay, Dubuque Museum of Art, Dubuque, IA

The 3rd World Ceramic Biennale 2005 Korea, Ichon World Ceramic Center, Kyongg Province, Korea (2005)

NCECA 2005 Clay National Exhibition, Baltimore County Center for Art and

Visual Culture, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD  (2005)

The Naked Truth: 2004 International Juried Woodfire Exhibition, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids, IA (2004)

Gas-Fired/Wood-Fired: Kilns, Fire and Ceramic Expression, Carroll Reece Museum, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN (2004)

The 2nd World Ceramic Biennale 2003 Korea International Competition, Ichon World 

Ceramic Center, Kyonggi Province, Korea (2003)

Cheongju International Craft Biennale 2003, Competition Exhibition Hall, Cheongju, South Korea (2003)

Twenty-Five Years of Collecting: Works from the Permanent Collection, Martin Museum of Art, Baylor, University, Waco, TX (2003)


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, Wort 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

Advanced Business Fulfillment, St. Louis, Missouri

H & R Block Corporate Headquarters, Kansas City, Missouri

SELECTED AWARDS
2008
William H Byler Distinguished Professor Award, University of Missouri, Columbia

2007
Lighton International Artists Exchange Program, Kansas City Artists Coalition, Kansas City, Missouri

Sturt Australian Contemporary Craft Center Residency Award, Mittagong, Australia

2003
Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Research/Creative Activity in the Humanities and Fine Arts, University of Missouri – Columbia

1996
Fletcher Challenge Ceramic Award, Merit Award, Auckland New Zealand

1987
Kennedy Center Fellowship for Teachers of the Arts, Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C


SELECTED INVITED WORKSHOPS & LECTURES

Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ

Anderson Ranch Art Center, Snowmass, CO

Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC

Art Association of Jackson Hole, Jackson, WY

Utah State University, Logan, UT

Southwest School of Art and Craft, San Antonio, TX

TAFE New South Wales, Northern Sydney Institute, Sydney, Australia

Sturt Australian Contemporary Craft Center, Mittagong NSW, Australia

University of North Texas, Denton, Texas

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN

Arvada Center for the Arts, Arvada, CO

Red Star Studios, Kansas City, MO

Southwestern University, Georgetown, TX

St. John’s University, Collegeville, MN

University of Nebraska – Lincoln, Lincoln, NE

Baylor University, Waco, TX

Tainan National College of the Arts, Kuantien, Taiwan

Washington University, St. Louis, MO

The Art Association of Jackson Hole, Jackson, WY

Dennison University, Granville, OH

University of Wisconsin - Whitewater, WI

Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas

East Carolina University, Greenville, NC

Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL