Anna Leigh Clem is an artist working in photography, text, book arts, video, sculpture, and other media to investigate the nature of ephemerality. Compelled by the ineffable secrets embedded in memories, dreams, and the natural world, her work makes tangible these otherwise invisible realms. Clem holds a Master of Fine-Arts in photography and integrated media from Lesley University (2021) and a Bachelor of Fine-Arts in photography from Rochester Institute of Technology (2012). Her work has been shown both nationally and internationally, at venues such as Bromfield Gallery, the Center for Photography at Woodstock, Foley Gallery, Visual Studies Workshop, Camera Club of New York, Davis Orton Gallery, Griffin Museum of Photography, GuatePhoto Festival, and Elysium Gallery. She has published both trade edition books and artist’s books, several of which are held in the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University and the Franklin Furnace Artists’ Book Collection at Pratt Institute. Clem is currently based on the North Shore of Boston and teaches at Montserrat College of Art.
CONTACT
aapertura{at}gmail{dot}com
EXHIBITIONS
“The Fantastic Show” group exhibit
Endicott College; Beverly, MA February 24-April 18 2023
“Tucked into the Garden Bed” solo exhibit
Bromfield Gallery; Boston, MA January 4-29 2023
“Homecoming” group exhibit
James Kerney Campus Gallery; Trenton, NJ December 8-January 29 2022
“Almost Endless” group exhibit
Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art; Altoona, PA August 4-September 25 2021
“Untouchable” Lesley Photography and Integrated Media MFA thesis show
Roberts Gallery, Lunder Arts Center; Cambridge, MA July 2-12 2021
“Exlibro: All About Books” group exhibit
Arts Mid-Hudson Gallery; Poughkeepsie, NY July 12-28 2019
“The Perennial Garden” solo exhibit
Facets of Earth; Kingston, NY March 2019
“Analog v. Digital” group exhibit
Foley Gallery; New York, NY August 16-26 2017
“Radius 50” group exhibit, juror: David A. Ross
Woodstock Artists Association & Museum; Woodstock, NY August 5-27 2017
“Month of Photography Los Angeles Photo Book Exhibit” group exhibit
Venice Arts; Venice, CA January 7-29 2017
“Common Sense(s)” group exhibit at Photo-Bookworks Symposium
Visual Studies Workshop; Rochester, NY June 23-25 2016, exhibit up May-July 2016
“Zine and Self-Published Book Fair” group exhibit, curator: Anouk Kruithof
Camera Club of New York; New York, NY June 10-12 2016
“Welcome: Page by Page” photobook show, curator: Hannah Frieser, and “Common Sense(s)” zine show, curators: Juan Madrid and Carlos Loret de Mola
Center for Photography at Woodstock; Woodstock, NY February-April 2016
“PHOTOBOOK 2015” group exhibit – “grounded” chosen as 1 of 4 best of show, jurors: Karen Davis and Paula Tognarelli
Davis Orton Gallery; Hudson, NY November-December 2015
Griffin Museum of Photography; Winchester, MA January-March 2016
“PHOTOcentric 2015” group exhibit, juror: Julie Saul
Garrison Art Center; Garrison, NY December-January 2016
“ESPY 2015” group exhibit – on-screen segment, jurors: Helen Sear and Peter Finnemore
elysiumgallery; Swansea, Wales November-December 2015
“2015 FotoVisura Grant Exhibition at GuatePhoto”group exhibit
Santo Domingo del Cerro; Antigua, Guatemala November 2015
“Paper White” group exhibit, curator: Lori Van Houten
PS 209; Stone Ridge, NY December-January 2015
“Zine! Zine!” group exhibit, curator: Heige Kim
Roos Arts; Rosendale, NY December 2014
“NET 11: The Poetic Narrative” group exhibit online, curators:
Ashley Kauschinger of Light Leaked and Ethan Fogus
Oranbeg Press; Brooklyn, NY November 2014
“Thesaurus” group projection show, curator: John O’Toole of Oranbeg Press
Dossier Outpost; New York, NY August 2014
“NET 04: I fear for my safety” group projection and print show, curators:
Nathaniel Grann and Jordan Swartz of Empty Stretch
Furthermore; Washington, DC April 2014
“NET 03: The Chimera” group exhibit online, curator: Juan Madrid
Oranbeg Press; Brooklyn, NY February 2014
“Winter Salon” group exhibit, curator: Lori Van Houten
PS 209; Stone Ridge, NY December-January 2014
“Light Me Up” group exhibit, curator: Heige Kim
Roos Arts; Rosendale, NY December 2013
“The Art of Photography Show 2013” group exhibit, juror: Julia Dolan
San Diego Art Institute; San Diego, CA October-November 2013
“Slideluck Woodstock II” group projection show, jurors:
Ariel Shanberg, Carrie Haddad, Stephanie Heimann and Sabine Meyer
The Center for Photography at Woodstock; Woodstock, NY August 2013
“City Streets / Country Roads” group exhibit, juror:
Alex Webb and Rebecca Norris Webb
PhotoPlace Gallery; Middlebury, VT July-August 2013
“Secret Garden” solo exhibit, curator: Lori Van Houten
PS 209; Stone Ridge, NY May-June 2013
“Self Portrait” group exhibit online annex, juror: Caleb Cole
PhotoPlace Gallery; Middlebury, VT May-June 2013
“I know you through pictures, vol. II” Fine Art Photography senior class exhibit
Gallery R; Rochester, NY June-July 2012
“The Nostalgia Project” Multimedia performance and music video
Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Imagine RIT; Rochester, NY April-May 2012
“I know you through pictures.” Fine Art Photography senior class exhibit
Rochester Institute of Technology; Rochester, NY March 2012
EDUCATION
Lesley University
College of Art and Design
Master of Fine-Arts Degree, 2021
Photography and Integrated Media
AWARDS AND RESIDENCIES
Boscobel Summer Artist Residency, 2020
Boscobel House and Gardens
Photographers' Fellowship Fund, The Center for Photography at Woodstock
Honorable Mention for project To be oneself completely, 2015
Juror: Vince Aletti
FotoVisura Grant for Outstanding Personal Photography Project
Honorable Mention for project It will become something, 2015
Jurors: Elizabeth Griffin, Grey Hutton, Judy Walgren, Lindsay Blatt, MaryAnne Golon, Sebastian Liste, and Simon Barnett
Robert Elder Scholarship, RIT
Four-year scholarship awarded to one freshman photography student, 2008 - 2012
PUBLICATIONS
- “Innermost House” self-published photography book, 2022
- “Homecoming” exhibition catalogue, MFA Photography Reviews; photographs and text (pp. 190-91), 2022
- Photography and Integrated Media exhibition catalogue, Lesley University; photographs and text (pp. 6-7), 2021
- “Floating Petals”, artist’s book, 2020
- “Outside of a photograph's borders”, World Photography Organisation; online interview, May 10, 2017
- “shapeshifter”, self-published photography book, 2016
- “grounded”, self-published photography zine, 2015
- “Kosmosis Volume I: Retrograde”, Brooklyn-based magazine; cover photograph, 2014
- “City Streets / Country Roads” exhibition catalog, PhotoPlace Gallery; photograph (p. 32), 2013
- “Self Portrait” exhibition catalog, PhotoPlace Gallery; photograph (p. 56), 2013
- “DUO”, student-run magazine; photographs and poetry (p. 35), 2011
- RIT Signatures Magazine 2011-2012, Literary and Art Magazine; poem (p. 59), 2011
- RIT Reporter Magazine, RIT student-run magazine; cover photograph, 2010
- “Best of College Photography 2010”, Photographer's Forum; photograph (p. 142), 2010
- “JPG Featured Member", JPG Magazine; online interview, February 2008
- Diana F+ book, Lomographic Society International; photograph (p. 140), 2008
- New Paltz Times; interview, October 4, 2007
- New Paltz Times; review of Whitecliff Vineyard exhibit, May 3, 2007
COLLECTIONS
Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University
Indie Photobook Library
Franklin Furnace Artists' Book Collection, Pratt Institute