The distinctive figurative sculpture by Lisa Clague hovers between fantasy and reality – playful, mysterious, contemplative. “My work evokes a place between the subconscious and the intangible,” she notes. “My masked figures are hybrid creatures, mistresses of ambiguity and disguise, of seduction and deception. These images, like dreams, are familiar but illusive.

The figures are rendered in white-ware and then treated with stains, oxides and wax. Metal, glass and/or wood are added components to complete the sculpture.

In the 80s, Clague literally turned the figurative tradition on edge by transforming humans into masked human animals. These hybrid creatures, primarily female forms, communicate a complex symbiotic relationship between humans and animals, and inner and outer realities. The inspirations for such intensely unique pieces can be credited to a variety of sources, such as the birth of her daughter and the death of her father. Clague says, “Presently, my influences are from Renaissance art and the classical ideals. A quiet beauty, realism, symmetry, harmony and the idea that physical perfection in art implies a perfection in mind and spirit. Although I will never be a realist and I still lean towards surrealism, I find satisfaction in striving for these ancient ideals.”

Clague received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Cleveland Institute of Art and her Master of Fine Art degree from California College of Arts and Crafts.