Constance McBride delves into gender-based issues with ceramic sculpture, installations and mixed media collage. Recent awards include a position in the Chautauqua (NY) Visual Arts Summer Residency Program and grants from The Puffin Foundation, Philadelphia Sculptors, and Phoenix Art Museum's Contemporary Forum. Her work has appeared in solo and group exhibitions throughout the country, including at the Phoenix Art Museum, the Biggs Museum of American Art, DE, The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, Archie Bray Foundation for Ceramic Arts in Montana, and San Angelo Museum of Art, TX. Currently based in Chester Springs, PA, she teaches sculpture and hand building at Clay on Main in Oley, PA, and is a guest host of the interview podcast, Art Watch, on WCHE Radio in West Chester, PA. McBride earned her B.A. from Arcadia University, Glenside, PA.

 

McBride’s work throws light on issues experienced by most women—from becoming aware of the male gaze and self-objectifying, to harassment, abuse, marginalization and ageism. Simultaneously, women struggle to remain relevant, take care of their physical and mental health, and maintain financial stability. She creates deliberate parallels between her materials and how women are treated in society, often using clay—a medium historically excluded from the fine art world—to illustrate how age is explicitly linked to failure for women. The pieces are hand built and sometimes include bits of fabric, found objects, metals and nature. Surface treatments such as colored clay slips, pastels, stains, oxides and graphite emphasize the textures and characteristics of living, breathing skin. McBride’s women are revealed through a lens of strength and resilience.