Clare Grill’s (b. 1979, Chicago, IL; lives and works in Queens, New York) paintings originate in early American Sampler embroideries made by girls and young women to demonstrate their needlepoint skills. Her painting process revolves around an acute attention to surface detail. Often taking the canvas off the wall, she responds to raking light from her window falling upon the tabletop where she paints, playing with the texture and weave of the linen. Grill picks at the surface with brushes and her fingers, adding and removing color, burying and dusting off the original imagery. Her layering technique reveals colors at first not seen, creating a muted palette and textured surface as organic shapes emerge. This palimpsest method of painting creates a sense of surprise and movement similar to the way light activates the water’s surface.
She holds a BA from the University of St Thomas, St. Paul and an MFA from the Pratt Institute. Grill also attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2011. Since 2013, Grill has been a visiting artist lecturer at numerous art schools and institutions across the US, including at Columbia University, New York (2025); the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2023); New York Studio School (2022), among others.
Grill has been exhibiting at the Gallery since 2019. She has had solo exhibitions at Galería Marta Cervera, Madrid, Spain (2025); M+B Gallery, Los Angeles (2024); Horton Gallery, New York (2017); and Zieher Smith & Horton, New York (2015), among others. She has also been featured in numerous group exhibitions including at Field of Play, New York (2025); Platform, New York (2024); Soco Gallery, Charlotte (2024); Analog Diary, Beacon (2023); and Kate Werble Gallery, New York (2022). Grill’s works are in permanent collections at the Minneapolis Institute of Art; Minnesota Museum of Art, St. Paul; Albright College, Reading; Santa Barbara Museum of Art; Soho House, New York; Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis; and the Wythe Hotel, Brooklyn.