Clarissa Payne Uvegi is a contemporary figurative artist whose work is noted for its boldness and candor. With a disarming, unabashed honesty and penetrating vision, her paintings often open us up to a deeper understanding of our own emotions, as well as those of the model and artist. This is achieved with a powerfully energetic use of color and line.
"Painting is my meditation. I have a passion for studying the model in order to evoke more than what is seen on the surface, as if to unravel a mystery; to capture the essence/spirit."
Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Clarissa has a BA in Art from Douglass College, Rutgers University and a BFA in Communication Design from Parsons School of Design. She has studied drawing and painting at The Art Students League of New York & The National Academy Museum & School.
She lives in New York City with her husband.
Education
Douglass College, Rutgers University, BA in Art - Studied with Leon Golub & Joan Semmel
Parsons School of Design, BFA in Communication Design – Studied with C.P. Pineles & Henry Wolf
Art Students League of New York – Studied Drawing with Gustav Rehberger, Peter Cox & Michael Burban, Painting with Peter Cox, Richard Pionk, Jerry Weiss, MaryBeth McKenzie & Dan Gheno
National Academy – Painting with MaryBeth McKenzie, Sculpture with Barney Hodes
Experience
2012 - Present – Treasurer/Member of The Portrait Project Association - A group of international artists, mostly from New York, who create and model for portraits of each other.
Exhibits and Honors
The American Artists Professional League's 96th Grand National Exhibition: recognized as an outstanding realist in the semi finalist showcase featured indefinitely on their website beginning, October 28, 2024
The Portrait Project Group Exhibit - “Go Figure”, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (BWAC), 481 Van Brunt St. Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY, July 8, 2023 - August 13, 2023
The Portrait Project Group Exhibit, The Hudson Park Library Gallery, 66 Leroy Street, NYC, December 3, 2022 - January 30, 2023
“Parent Portraits” Exhibition, Westbeth Gallery, 55 Bethune Street, NYC, May 11 - June 8, 2019
Grant Winners Exhibition, Phyllis Harriman Mason Gallery, NYC, October 2019
Doreta Kesson Masterton Grant Winner, 2017
The Portrait Project Group Exhibit – "Artists Portraying Artists", Westbeth Gallery, 55 Bethune Street, NYC, May 6 - 20, 2017
Parsons School Of Design, Juried Alumni Exhibit, Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, NYC, 2015
Paintings & Excerpts from Article in "Lines from the League", chosen for fundraiser mailing for The Art Students League of New York, 2015
Featured in "Lines from the League”, Quarterly Publication of The Art Students League of New York, 2014
The Portrait Project Group Exhibit – "Artists & Posers", Alex Adam Gallery, Harlem, NY, 2013
Exhibits and Honors
Parsons School Of Design, Juried Alumni Exhibit, Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, NYC, 2013
National Academy Museum & School, "Creative Mischief" Open House Exhibition, NYC, 2013
National Academy Museum & School, Open House Exhibition, NYC, 2012
Peoria Art Guild, "Nude Attitude" Exhibit, Peoria, Illinois, 2012
Exhibition of Works by Recipients of The 2009 Merit Scholarships, Phyllis Harriman Mason Gallery, NYC, 2010
Exhibit at The National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, October 22, 2009 - September 6, 2010
Finalist, Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2009, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, 2009
Recipient of the Susan Gray Memorial Scholarship, 2009
"Waterworks", Exhibit on the SS LILAC, Pier 40, NYC, 2009
Received Red Dot (Best in Show) in Group Show, Phyllis Harriman Mason Gallery, NYC, 2009, 2006
Red Dot Exhibits, Phyllis Harriman Mason Gallery, NYC, 2009, 2006
Juried Members’ Exhibition, Phyllis Harriman Mason Gallery, NYC, 2004