I have not been adding updates to my website recently (I use Instagram more, these days), but I felt this warranted a post. Here’s an excerpt from the press release:

The La Napoule Art Foundation congratulates Will Clift (b. 1978) on winning the 2022 Henry Clews Prize. This prestigious prize provides an accomplished sculptor with studio space and resources for a year’s residency and a summer exhibition at the Château de La Napoule in France. Clift begin his time in France in September.

In 2010, La Napoule Art Foundation established the Henry Clews Prize to honor the sculptural legacy of Henry Clews, an American sculptor who with his wife, Marie, purchased and restored the Chateau de la Napoule starting in1918. This biennial prize, awarded by invitation only, recognizes one distinguished sculptor who has demonstrated exceptional accomplishment. Previous Prix recipients include Serge van de Put, Nicolas Lavarenne, and Ana María Hernando.

“During his group residency a decade ago, we saw an emerging artist with raw energy in both work and character that expressed a spirit of discovery reminiscent of Henry Clews. Clift’s forms have a distinct certainty and seemingly impossible equilibrium, yet the gestures are playful and seem to dance and bend with their surroundings,” says LNAF Board President Natasha Clews Gallaway. “We are excited to give him dedicated time and resources to create site-specific art in the Château gardens. We hope this is a chance for Clift, now mid-career, to delve deeper into his continued exploration of balance and contextual work.”

Clift is spending the year developing site-specific works in the chateau and its gardens, as well as more deeply exploring the themes of balance and equilibrium through installation works. He is also experimenting with new materials and processes to explore issues of land use, water scarcity, and climate change as they relate both to southern France, and to the area around his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.