Lorenzo Clayton

Clayton was born in 1950 in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, on the Tohajilee reservation (formerly known as Cañoncito). After graduating from high school in 1969, he served three years in the Army. As a young inspiring artist, he initially attended the California College of Arts and Crafts (now California College of Arts) in Oakland, before moving to New York City in 1973 where he graduated from Cooper Union with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1977. Although concentrating in painting as a student, Clayton progressed to printmaking, which he has taught at his Alma Mater since 1993. He is also an instructor at Parson’s The New School for Design, and he is on the Native American Artist Roster of AMERINDA (American Indian Artists of North America). In 1983, he won a New Jersey State Council on the Arts grant and in 1986, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Award. Clayton is well known for his installations, printmaking, and collaborations.