Clement Meadmore (9 February 1929 – 19 April 2005) was an Australian-American furniture designer and sculptor known for massive outdoor steel sculptures.
Born Clement Lyon Meadmore in Melbourne, Australia in 1929, Clement Meadmore studied aeronautical engineering and then industrial design at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. After graduating in 1949, Meadmore designed furniture for several years and, in the 1950s, created his first welded sculptures. He had several one-man exhibits of his sculptures in Melbourne and Sydney between 1954 and 1962. In 1963, Meadmore moved to New York City. Later, he became an American citizen.
Meadmore used COR-TEN steel, aluminium, and occasionally bronze to create colossal outdoor sculptures which combine the elements of abstract expressionism and minimalism.
Earlier in his career he worked as a furniture designer, of which his DC601A chair is a well known example.
He was an avid amateur drummer and jazz lover who held jam sessions in his home. His fondness for jazz is reflected in the names of several of his works, including "Riff" (1996), "Round Midnight" (1996), "Stormy Weather" (1997), "Night and Day" (1979) and "Perdido" (1978).
Meadmore's sculptures are held by museums, corporate headquarters, and schools internationally. His work has been exhibited in a number of galleries, including the Anita Shapolsky Gallery in New York City, the Columbus Gallery of Fine Art in Ohio, and the Davenport Municipal Art Gallery in Iowa.
He authored How to Make Furniture Without Tools (1975) and The Modern Chair: Classic Designs by Thonet, Breuer, Le Corbusier, Eames and Others (1997). His work and career were catalogued in The Sculpture of Clement Meadmore (1994) by Eric Gibson.
Meadmore died at age 76 in Manhattan from complications of Parkinson's disease.
How to Make Furniture Without Tools (Pantheon, 1975) (ISBN 0-394-73063-1)
The Modern Chair: Classic Designs by Thonet, Breuer, Le Corbusier, Eames and Others (Dover, 1997) (ISBN 0-486-29807-8)
The Sculpture of Clement Meadmore by Eric Gibson (Hudson Hills, 1994) (ISBN 1-55595-098-1)
Sculptures in public collections and public spaces
Virginia, 1970, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Awakening, 1968, AMP Society, Melbourne
Dervish, 1981, Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne
Paraphernalia, 1999, McClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park, Langwarrin, Melbourne
Silence, 1960, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Thunder, 1960, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney