Artist Ty Nathan Clark

Ty Nathan Clark is a multidisciplinary artist whose work spans painting, sculpture, film, and literature. Inspired by his uncle, renowned sculptor and Raku artist Conway “Jiggs” Pierson, Clark developed a deep passion for the arts from an early age. His artistic journey has taken him across five continents, where he has lived, created, and learned from diverse cultures.

In 2021, he founded the Ty Nathan Clark Artist Mentorship Program, which has supported 65 artists from 21 countries. He has exhibited at institutions such as the Delaware Contemporary Museum, Art Center Waco Museum, and the Goss Michael Gallery. In 2017 and 2019, Culture Trip acknowledged him as one of Austin's top contemporary artists, and he also earned a spot at the prestigious Marfa Invitational 2025.

Beyond visual arts, Clark’s award-winning documentary "Jump Shot" was an official selection at SXSW in 2019. He completed his first novel in 2020 and launched the "Just Make Art podcast" in 2023 alongside artist Nathan Terborg, which has gained a global following.

He has studied under sculptor William Catling and painter Makoto Fujimura. Based in Waco, Texas, he continues to create, exhibit, and mentor artists, with work currently in major U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, New York, Houston and Miami.

"I am a student of memory. As a multi-disciplinary expressionist, my work delves into the art of remembering and the human experience. In the process of a body of work, I follow Marcel Proust’s lead and stimulate my senses through memory and the necessity of reflection using personal journals, poetry, and literature. By exploring memory through different mediums like canvas and sculpture, my artwork transcends boundaries, capturing the complexity of memory through a fusion of mediums. These mediums include ash, cement, sawdust, canvas, paint, thread, yarn, plaster, and found objects, constructing and deconstructing the very essence of memory’s texture. Every creation resulting from these processes tells a story, in abstract form, reminiscent of a poem or book chapters, exploring themes such as healing, trauma recovery, faith, and self-discovery. My artistic vision reflects memory’s intricacies, inviting reflection on personal narratives and universal themes in scales that range up to 20 feet in size. Each work involves constant physicality, using a range of motion from the floor to the wall, incorporating dancing, jumping, sliding, and pressing with body weight, often using cardboard as a transfer mechanism. As a full-time studio artist, my focus is on creating a body of work that continually develops and matures over the course of a lifetime, evoking emotions by accessing both remembered and forgotten memories."

Tell us a little about yourself (where you are from) and your background in the arts.

I am a Northern California kid who migrated to Texas 25 years ago and currently work in my studio in Waco, Texas. I grew up around the arts and have never wanted to do anything else in life. Art has been my goal since I can remember.

My uncle was a world renown sculptor and raku artist, who influenced me at a young age. My high school art teachers then continued my influence and inspiration as they invested and encouraged me to push ahead in art. Studying art in college on a basketball scholarship added another step as my professors left an incredible fire within me after leaving school. That fire burns brighter than ever, as I’ve been blessed to continue growing in the art world and my practice 25 years after art school.

My work is currently shown across the US; I’ve taken part in international residencies and was accepted into the prestigious MARFA INVITATIONAL this year. A few years back, I began investing in artists to give back what I have learned by forming an Artist Mentorship Program that now has 65 Alumni from 21 countries. It has been an absolute joy for me. One of those former artists from my program and I started a podcast a few years back titled "Just Make Art". I live, breathe and embrace art in all of its grandeur. Aside from my wife and studio pup, Cash, art fills every breathing moment of time.

What kind of work are you currently making?

As a multi-disciplinary artist, I try to be in a constant state of flux with my work, always experimenting, adapting, listening to the questions the work is asking and allowing the answers to reveal themselves. I recently have been playing with expanding my use of fiber by working in small studies on canvas with traditional medium and different size fibers. I hope to take ideas from the past 10-15 years into a fresh territory with my paintings and my sculpture.

What is a day like in the studio for you?

A studio day for me can take many forms. It all depends on where it falls within a year. Normally, I start with my studies or reading. I am constantly reading art books, artist journals, art stories and art history with a cup of coffee. From there, I head into the studio to take some time listening to and looking at my current body of work, building out playlists of music that go along with the story I am trying to tell, or writing.

If I am in a session for my artist mentorship program, I might be on zoom with an artist or preparing research for their work. I could spend an hour on actual art one day and then 6-8+ hours the next day. It all depends on the month or time of year.

What are you looking at right now and/or reading?

I am always looking and reading. I just finished DeKooning: An American Master and currently reading: Notes from the Woodshed: Jack Whitten, The Slip: The New York City Street that Changed American Art Forever, Ai Wei Wei: 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows, Jackson Pollock: An American Saga, Get The Picture: Bianca Booker, Jean Michel Basquiat Handbook, A Small Porch: Wendell Berry, On Friendship: Alexander Nehamas, Reductionism in Art and Brain Science: Eric R. Kandel and some others.

I also visit museums, galleries as often as I can. I am a member of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and love spending time at the Menil Collection, Cy Twombly Museum in Houston and Museum of Fine Arts in Ft Worth. Everywhere I travel, I make a list of museums and galleries to visit, to ensure that it is a part of my trip!

Where can we find more of your work? (ex. website/insta/gallery/upcoming shows)

Website: www.tynathanclark.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tynathanclark/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justmakeartpodcast/ (Apple, Spotify & YouTube)

Marfa Invitational: May 15-26th.

Gallery of Contemporary Art: Wtoctawek, Poland- Sept