Claire Godbee (b. 1990) is an artist living and working in Birmingham, Alabama. She graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2016 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Her work has been exhibited in Abroms-Engel Institute for Visual Arts, Birmingham Public Library Gallery and Room412 Gallery in Birmingham, AL, Bell’s Gallery in Dothan, AL, Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment Gallery in Huntsville, AL, Red225 Gallery and Rock Wall Gallery in Nashville, TN, and WomanMade Gallery in Chicago, IL.
Statement
My work explores and celebrates the depths of womanhood, our connection to nature and the magic that exists within us, permeating everyday life. Interwoven with my own mythology, rituals, and experiences, my paintings embody narratives about interconnection, inner liberation, and clarity received from nature and the universal elements. My work is rooted in psychology, mythology, astrology, yoga and poetic traditions.
My garden is a catalyst for knowledge, inspiration and motifs in my work. Tender interactions with nature have provided connection to the complex cycles of life and death that surround, comfort and guide us in the processing of collective and personal grief. Embodying these teachings, my work connects viewers to grief, gratitude, environmental and emotional intimacy, magic and mystery, and that which is sacred. Images and experiences from my own life are intertwined, forming a painterly dance between what is real and what is imagined, between memory, reality and lore.
CV
EDUCATION
BFA – University of Alabama at Birmingham - 2016
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
MAGICICADA, Basic., Solo Exhibition, Birmingham, AL - 2024
Soul Searching, Solo Exhibition, Red 225 Gallery, Nashville, TN - 2023
Shadow Burn, Shadow Bloom, Solo Exhibition, Room 412 Gallery, Birmingham, AL - 2023
Southern Charms, Solo Exhibition, Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment, Huntsville, AL - 2022
Press Pause, Solo Exhibition, Gallery 1:11, Huntsville, AL - 2022
Release, Solo Exhibition, Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment, Huntsville, AL - 2021
Broad Unity, Solo Exhibition, Gold Sprint, Huntsville, AL - 2020
The Hiding / The Healing, Solo Exhibition, TrimTab Tasting Gallery, Birmingham, AL - 2019
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Intimacism, Group Exhibition, Red225 Gallery, Nashville, TN - 2024
Cosa Nostra, Group Exhibition, Rock Wall Gallery, Nashville, TN - 2024
G.R.I.T.S. (Girls Raised in the South), Group Exhibition, Bell’s Gallery, Dothan, AL - 2023
Southern Charms, Solo Exhibition, Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment, Huntsville, AL - 2022
Feminist Biennial Group Exhibition, WomanMade Gallery, Chicago, Illinois - 2022
Wax & Wane, Group Exhibition, Stay Home Gallery, Paris, TN - 2022
Amending Gender, Group Show, Avondale Upstairs, Birmingham, AL - 2019
BHM Loft Show, Group Show, MAKEbhm, Birmingham, AL - 2018
UAB Bachelor of Fine Arts Exhibition, UAB AEIVA, Birmingham, AL - 2016
UAB Annual Student Juried Exhibition, UAB AEIVA, Birmingham, AL - 2016
UAB Painting, Group Exhibition, Birmingham Public Library, Birmingham, AL - 2016
PRESS + PUBLICITY
No Bad Art Podcast, Episode 47 - 2023
G.R.I.T.S. (Girls Raised in the South), Exhibition Catalogue, Bell’s Gallery, Huntsville, AL - 2023
Create! Magazine, Issue #28, 2022
Birmingham Lifestyle Magazine, February 2021 Issue, 2021
CURATORIAL EXPERIENCE
Guest Juror - University of Montevallo, Annual Juried Foundation Exhibition - 2023
Curator - Group Exhibition, Roots & Revelry Parlor Gallery - 2017
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Featured Artist for Bare Hands Workshops - 2018
Featured Artist for Alabama Center for Architecture Teacher Workshop / dreamARCHITECTURE - 2017
Artist Technique Demonstration at University of Alabama at Birmingham - 2015