Born in 1989, Clio Newton grew up on the east coast of the United states. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts at The Cooper Union in New York City and a Masters of Fine Arts at Zürcher Hochschule der Kunste in Zürich, Switzerland. She has additional studies at The Florence Academy of Art in Italy. She was awarded the AKKU Artist in Residency grant in Zürich and was selected as one of the top young artists in Europe by Artagon in Paris. Newton is a two-time recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Grant Award and has exhibited her work in California, Miami, New England and New York as well as in Florence, Italy; Munich, Paris and Zürich. Most recently, Newton’s work has been added to the collections of The Flint Institute, Flint, MI, 21C Museum, Louisville, KY and the Baltimore Museum of Art, MD. Her studio is located in Zürich, Switzerland, where she resides.
Newton’s approach to her compositions comes from the standpoint of the “female gaze” reflecting her interest in contemporary models of femininity and the representation of women in art and culture. Newton’s renderings in compressed charcoal feature larger-than-life, figurative subjects - often solo sitters - who fill the picture plane and beyond. Her works are remarkably realistic compositions informed by bold choices and her interest in the uncanny.