Clement Meadmore (9 February 1929 – 19 April 2005) was an Australian-American sculptor known for massive outdoor steel

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

Biography

Born Clement Lyon Meadmore in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia in 1929, Clement Meadmore studied

aeronautical engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is sim ...

and then industrial design at the

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public university, public research university in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1887 by Francis Ormond, RMIT began as a night school offering cla ...

. After graduating in 1949, Meadmore designed furniture for several years and, in the 1950s, created his first welded

s. He had several one-man exhibits of his sculptures in Melbourne and Sydney between 1954 and 1962. In 1963, Meadmore moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Later, he became an American citizen. Meadmore used

COR-TEN Weathering steel, often referred to by the genericised trademark COR-TEN steel and sometimes written without the hyphen as corten steel, is a group of steel alloys which were developed to eliminate the need for painting, and form a stable ru ...

steel,

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

, and occasionally bronze to create colossal outdoor sculptures which combine the elements of abstract expressionism and minimalism. He was an avid amateur drummer and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

lover who held

jam sessions A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without ext ...

in his home. His fondness for jazz is reflected in the names of several of his works, including "Riff" (1996), "Round Midnight" (1996), "Stormy Weather" (1997), "Night and Day" (1979) and "Perdido" (1978). Meadmore's sculptures are held by museums, corporate headquarters, and schools internationally. His work has been exhibited in a number of galleries, including the

Anita Shapolsky Gallery The Anita Shapolsky Gallery is an art gallery that was founded in 1982 by Anita Shapolsky. It is currently located at 152 East 65th Street, on Manhattan's Upper East Side, in New York City. The gallery specializes in 1950s and 1960s abstract e ...

in New York City, the Columbus Gallery of Fine Art in Ohio, and the Davenport Municipal Art Gallery in Iowa. He authored ''How to Make Furniture Without Tools'' (1975) and ''The Modern Chair: Classic Designs by Thonet, Breuer, Le Corbusier, Eames and Others'' (1997). His work and career were catalogued in ''The Sculpture of Clement Meadmore'' (1994) by Eric Gibson.

Death

Meadmore died at age 76 in Manhattan from complications of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

Publications

Books by Meadmore

*''How to Make Furniture Without Tools'' (Pantheon, 1975) () *''The Modern Chair: Classic Designs by Thonet, Breuer, Le Corbusier, Eames and Others'' (Dover, 1997) ()

Books about Meadmore

*''The Sculpture of Clement Meadmore'' by Eric Gibson (Hudson Hills, 1994) ()

Sculptures in public collections and public spaces

Australia

*Australian Capital Territory ** ''Virginia'', 1970,

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

, Canberra * Victoria ** ''Awakening'', 1968, AMP Society, Melbourne ** ''Dervish'', 1981,

Victorian Arts Centre Arts Centre Melbourne, originally known as the Victorian Arts Centre and briefly called the Arts Centre, is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the central ...

, Melbourne ** ''Paraphernalia'', 1999, McClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park, Langwarrin, Melbourne * New South Wales ** ''Silence'', 1960, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney ** ''Thunder'', 1960, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney ** ''Double Up'', 1970, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney ** ''Flippant Flurry'', 1977, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney ** ''Hereabout,'' 1971/2001,

Newcastle Art Gallery The Newcastle Art Gallery (formerly the Newcastle City Art Gallery, Newcastle Region Art Gallery) is a large, public art museum in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. History Founded in 1945 with an art collection consisting of 123 works ...

, Newcastle * Western Australia ** ''Between 1979–1980'', 1981, Perth Cultural Centre,

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

* Queensland ** '' Offshoot'', 1982, Queensland Government, Brisbane

United States

*California ** ''Bent'', 1966, Newport Harbor Art Museum,

Newport Beach Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island draws ...

** ''Up Ended'', 1969, University of California Art Museum, Santa Barbara *District of Columbia ** ''Riding High'', 1977, Gallaudet College, Washington *Florida ** ''Trans'', 1972, Performance Asset Management,

West Palm Beach West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

Northbridge Center, West Palm Beach
*Illinois ** ''Spiral'', 1971, Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park, University Park *Iowa **''Sophisticated Lady'', 1977, Figge Art Museum, Davenport *Kentucky ** ''Fling'', 1971, Speed Art Museum, Louisville *Kansas ** ''Always'', 1992, Johnson County Community College, Overland Park *Louisiana ** '' Out of There'', 1974, Hale Boggs Federal Building Plaza,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

** ''Flippant Flurry'', 1977, Mrs. P. Roussel Norman, New Orleans *Massachusetts ** ''Upsurge'', 1989, Diana Chapman Walsh Alumnae Hall, Wellesley College, Wellesley *Michigan ** ''Hob Nob'', 1992, University of Michigan, North Campus, Ann Arbor ** ''Upcast'', 1985, Southfield Rd & Maple Rd,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

** ''Virginia'', 1970,

Detroit Institute of Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, has one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers with a major renovation and expansion project comple ...

, Detroit ** ''Split Ring'', 1969,

Woodland Mall Woodland Mall is an enclosed super-regional shopping mall located in Kentwood, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids. It comprises over 100 tenants in of retail space, with three anchor stores (Macy's, JCPenney, and Von Maur), along with Barnes ...

, Grand Rapids ** ''However'', 1998,

Dennos Museum Center The Dennos Museum Center is a fine art museum and cultural center located in Traverse City, Michigan on the campus of Northwestern Michigan College (NMC). Most notable for its permanent collection of Inuit art, the Dennos Museum opened in 1991 a ...

, Traverse City *New Hampshire **''Dervish'', 1972,

Currier Museum of Art The Currier Museum of Art is an art museum in Manchester, New Hampshire, in the United States. It features European and American paintings, decorative arts, photographs and sculpture. The permanent collection includes works by Picasso, Matisse, Mo ...

, Manchester
Perdido
1978,

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

, Hanover *New Jersey ** ''Offshoot'', 1982,

Grounds for Sculpture Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) is a sculpture park and museum located in Hamilton, New Jersey. It is located on the former site of Trenton Speedway. Founded in 1992 by John Seward Johnson II, the venue is dedicated to promoting an understanding ...

, Hamilton ** ''Upstart 2'', 1973, Entrance to the Engineering Quadrangle,

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

, Princeton *New York ** ''Verge'', 1970, Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza Art Collection, Albany ** ''Turn Out'', 1967, Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza Art Collection, Albany ** ''Wingspread'', 1999, 400 Chambers Street,

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

** ''Curl'', 1968,

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, New York ** ''Swing'', 1969, Chase Manhattan Bank, New York ** ''Wave'', 1969, Chase Manhattan Bank, New York ** ''Three Up'', 1977, White Plains Courthouse, White Plains ** ''Untitled'', 1971,

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York. The college models its approach to education after the Supervision system, Oxford/Cambridge system of one-on-one student-faculty tutorials. Sara ...

, Bronxville *Ohio ** ''

Open End ''The David Susskind Show'' is an American television talk show hosted by David Susskind which was broadcast from 1958 to 1986. The program began locally in New York City in 1958 as ''Open End,'' which referred to the fact that the program was open ...

'', 1984, St. Xavier High School, Cincinnati ** ''Branching Out'', 1981,

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian ...

, Cleveland ** '' Out of There'', 1974,

Columbus Museum of Art The Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in downtown Columbus, Ohio. Formed in 1878 as the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts (its name until 1978), it was the first art museum to register its charter with the state of Ohio. The museum collect ...

, Columbus ** ''Extent'', 1981, Pyramid Sculpture Park,

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

** ''Clench'', 1979, 34555 Chagrin Boulevard, Moreland Hills ** ''Switchback'', 1980, 811 Madison, Toledo ** ''Upbeat'', 1984,

Butler Institute of American Art The Butler Institute of American Art, located on Wick Avenue in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, was the first museum dedicated exclusively to American art. Established by local industrialist and philanthropist Joseph G. Butler, Jr., the museum h ...

, Youngstown *Oregon ** ''Split Ring'', 1969,

Portland Art Museum The Portland Art Museum in Portland, Oregon, United States, was founded in 1892, making it one of the oldest art museums on the West Coast and seventh oldest in the US. Upon completion of the most recent renovations, the Portland Art Museum becam ...

, Portland *Pennsylvania ** ''Up and Away'', 1977,

PNC Plaza PNC Plaza is a skyscraper in Downtown, Louisville, Kentucky and located at 500 West Jefferson Street. Owned by Pittsburgh-based PNC Bank, the 31-story, high structure was designed by architect Welton Becket and was completed in 1971. A not ...

, Pittsburgh ** ''Hence'', 1977,

Hartwood Acres Park Hartwood Acres is a county park in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania in the United States. Hartwood is considered the crown jewel of the county's network of nine distinct parks. Purchased by the county in 1969, its special feature is one of the l ...

, Pittsburgh ** ''Cross Current'', 1980, Smith Kline Corporation,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

*Texas ** ''Upbeat'', 1984, the Colonnade,

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

** ''Split Level'', 1971,

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

, Houston *Vermont ** ''Around and About'', 1971,

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

, MiddleburyMiddlebury.edu
*Virginia
Lake Fairfax Business Center, Reston
*Wisconsin **'' Double Up'', 1970,

Lynden Sculpture Garden Lynden Sculpture Garden (formerly the Bradley Sculpture Garden) is a 40-acre outdoor sculpture park located at 2145 West Brown Deer Road in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in Milwaukee County. Formerly the estate of Harry Lynde Bradley and Margaret (Peg ) Bla ...

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

**'' Upstart I'', 1967,

, Milwaukee

International

*Canada ** ''Upstart II'', 1970,

Robert McLaughlin Gallery The Robert McLaughlin Gallery is a public art gallery in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest public art gallery in the Regional Municipality of Durham, of which Oshawa is a part. The gallery houses a significant collection of Canadian conte ...

Oshawa, Ontario Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the G ...

*Japan ** ''Crescendo'', 1989,

Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre is a centre for the performing arts located in Ikebukuro, Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. It opened in 1990 and is operated by Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture. There is a concert hall with 1999 seats and a playhouse with 834 seats as ...

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

*Mexico ** ''Janus'', 1968,

Ruta de la Amistad Ruta de la Amistad (English: Friendship Route) is a sculpture corridor in Mexico City located along the southern section of the Anillo Periférico highway. The route was inaugurated in 1968 as part of 1968 Summer Olympics, that year Summer Olympics ...

Mexico City, Mexico Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of Mex ...

*Taiwan ** ''Portal'', 1995, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan

References

External links

Clement Meadmore official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meadmore, Clement 1929 births 2005 deaths RMIT University alumni 20th-century Australian sculptors Artists from Melbourne Australian emigrants to the United States 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists American male sculptors Deaths from Parkinson's disease Neurological disease deaths in New York (state)