Biography

Clemens is an experimental painter exploring the delicate relationship of painterly gesture—some of it bordering on writing—and richly layered surface texture. He strives to create visual and emotional experiences that transcend the traditional boundaries of painting and its surrounding architecture through vibrant, minimalist abstraction.

His paintings and drawings have been exhibited in solo and group shows in Europe, the United States and Asia. He has produced site-specific installations for organizations like the Anti-Defamation League. One of his key works, the large-scale tapestry Fire Oven, is on permanent display at Palais Liechtenstein in Vienna, Austria.

Clemens has received the prestigious Theodor Körner Prize (National Endowment for the Arts and Sciences in Austria), a scholarship and first prize from the Karl Anton Wolf Foundation, a Master Class Award, and Gold and Silver Füger Medals from the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. He lectures at various galleries and museums including the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Clemens has a master’s degree with honors from the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. He lives and works in New York.

Selected Exhibitions and Installations

2016
AFF Seoul, South Korea, Alternative Art Collections
Art Central, Hong Kong, Alternative Art Collections
‘Brooklyn, You and I’, 60 Pineapple Residence, Brooklyn, New York, group exhibition
2015
SCOPE Miami Beach, Miami, Florida, Alternative Art Collections
Gan Yishu – Enough of Art, F. Art, Espace Cinko, Paris, France, group exhibition
AFF Singapore, Alternative Art Collections
2011
‘Collected for Salzburg: New Acquisitions at Salzburg Museum from 2000 to 2010’, Salzburg Museum, Austria
2009
‘Brooklyn Waterfront Studio Series’, New York, Lights and Shadows, solo exhibition
2008
Palais Liechtenstein, Vienna, Austria, permanent installation of tapestry Fire Oven
2007
‘Papiertiger’, traveling exhibition, Galerie DECK, Stuttgart, Germany
2006
‘Papiertiger’, traveling exhibition, Galerie Andreas Engler, Berlin, Germany
2004
Palais Liechtenstein, Vienna, Austria, permanent installation of painting Three
2002
Institute for an Open Society (IOGE), Vienna, Austria, permanent installation
1999
European Headquarters of the Anti-Defamation League (The Ronald S. Lauder Foundation), Vienna, Austria, permanent installation
1998
Sugarburgh Art Space, New York, artists consortium, curated and exhibited
1995
‘Masters Thesis Exhibition’, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, Austria,
1994
Bank Austria Creditanstalt, Vienna, Austria, solo exhibition
1994
Asea Brown Boveri (ABB), Vienna, Austria
1993
‘Meisterschulausstellung’ (Annual Juried Exhibition), Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, Austria

Awards and Scholarships
  • 1996 Theodor Körner Prize – National Endowment for the Arts and Sciences, Austria
  • 1995 Master Class Award (Meisterschulpreis), Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, Austria
  • 1994 First Prize and Scholarship from the Karl Anton Wolf Foundation, Vienna
  • 1991 Golden Füger Medal, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna
  • 1990 Silver Füger Medal, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna
Selected Corporate Collections
  • Asea Brown Boveri (ABB), Vienna, Austria
  • Dorda Brugger Jordis, Vienna, Austria
  • Kier & Partner Management Consulting, Vienna, Austria
  • Smart Technologies (Siemens), Vienna, Austria
Press & Bibliography
  • Das Salzburg Museum 2000 bis 2010 – Daten, Fakten, Neuerwerbungen, exhibition catalog, 2011, p. 146
  • Liga, Das Magazin der Österreichischen Liga für Menschenrechte, May 2011, p.24
  • Sonnendeck, Stuttgarter Kunstnotizen, volume 46, April 2007
  • Galeries d’art contemporain berlinoises, PARISart, August 2006
  • Papiertiger, Die Welt, Berliner Kunstmarkt, August 2006
  • No Gun Shots Heard As Yet & Conveyance by Alan Lockwood, Non Serviam Press, 1999, ill. p. 9
  • Williamsburg Artist Studio Tours with the 92nd Street Y for Good Day New York, Fox 5 News, June 25, 1998
  • Williamsburg Artists, Interview, ARTE TV, July 1998
  • Annual Catalog, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, June 1995
  • To Be Continued, The Works of 77 Students of the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, interactive catalog on CD-ROM, Metis Multimedia, June 1995