Artist Bio

Theresa Clower makes sculpture and drawings that draw from everyday life and materials to create a contemporary look at the natural world and the people that are in it. Clower’s sculptures challenge the notion that purpose and direction is linear and singular. By fully examining what nature offers and “making it her own,” Clower aims to reveal something surprising and new. Her sculpture are playful and draw from the energy of music—modern jazz in particular. 

Clower’s portraiture emphasizes the humanity in us all. Her subjects are caught in contemporary moments in time and depict the struggles, joys, and complexity of the modern world.

Theresa Clower was born in 1950 in Baltimore, Maryland and has lived in a number of places throughout the US. She currently lives in the mountains of Western North Carolina, where she enjoys hiking, foraging for mushrooms, meditation, and gardening. Theresa has founded and led a number of non-profit organizations that span a thirty-five year career while continuing her role as an artist and teacher.

After the death of her son, Devin,  to an accidental drug overdose, Clower founded INTO LIGHT Project, a national organization that uses the power of art and storytelling to change the conversation about drug addiction. She has created and gifted over 350 graphite portraits of “loved and lost” to families throughout the US as part of INTO LIGHT Project. She has been featured on PBS’s Growing Bolder show for her efforts on behalf of those suffering from the disease of addiction. 

Both her portraits and sculptures have been juried in and displayed in galleries and museums throughout the country.

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