Carlton Newton’s interest in science, nature and technology weaves itself into his Sumi
ink drawings on paper which render imagined subjects both organic and
manufactured. His precise black forms appear specimen-like; self-contained clumps
of undulating lines and intertwined structures contrast a pristine white background as
though laid out for careful study and inspection. These drawings act as studies of
potential and completed three-dimensional objects, which mimic natural forms and
allude to the cyclical nature of the world. The drawings further communicate Newton’s
themes of life, reinvention and capacity.
Born in 1946, Carlton Newton currently lives and works in Richmond, VA. After
teaching appointments at the College of William and Mary and Princeton University
Newton joined Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts where from 1987
to 2017 he served in several key teaching and leadership capacities for the
Department of Sculpture and Extended Media. Newton received both his BFA and
MFA degrees in sculpture from the San Francisco Art Institute. His work has been
exhibited at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and 1708 Gallery in Richmond, Richmond;
Danese/Corey Gallery and the New Museum in New York; the Art Museum of the
Americas, Washington, D.C; Aqua Art Miami, Florida; the Paule Anglim Gallery, Atholl
McBean Gallery, and the South of Market Cultural Center in San Francisco; the
Peruvian North American Cultural Institute, Lima, Peru; and the Keith Talent Gallery,
London, England. He is the recipient of the VCU School of the Arts Faculty
Achievement Award of Excellence, an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Virginia
Commission for the Arts, an Artist Fellowship from the National Endowment for the
Arts, the Rome Prize Fellowship from the American Academy in Rome, an Honorarium
from the New York State Council on the Arts through the New Museum, and a
residency in Captiva, Florida from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. Newton’s
work is included in the collections of several major corporations including Markel,
Altria, and Dominion Energy.
