Clare Rojas


Clare Rojas is an artist, currently based in San Francisco and is part of the Mission School. She is "known for creating powerful folk-art-inspired tableaus that tackle traditional gender roles." She works in a variety of media, including painting, installations, video, street art, and children's books.

Early life and education

As a teenager, Rojas visited a nursing home, where she would make portraits in pastel and oil, while she listened to the interesting stories of her subjects.
She received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and her BFA in Printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design. At RISD, she originally studied printmaking, which informed her use of color, layering and sizing. In her search for non toxic paint, she discovered gouache, which she used to paint like a printmaker.

Career

Rojas work is inspired by folk art. She loves quilts and loves to tell stories, which is reflected in her work.
In her more recent work, Rojas has moved from figurative paintings into pure geometric abstraction. Inspired by Native American textiles, Quaker Art, and Byzantine mosaics, Rojas creates narratives depicting interactions between humans and animals, focusing on history’s journey to find peace. She brings multiple artistic influences together in her textiles by incorporating abstract geometry found in quilts and architecture. Rojas is known for adding elements of female sexuality into her artwork. She does this to give credit to women and recognize their natural strengths.

Peggy Honeywell

Rojas also plays guitar and banjo under the stage name Peggy Honeywell. She has released three albums: Honey For Dinner, Faint Humms, and Green Mountain.

Personal life

Rojas married fellow artist Barry McGee in 2005. She adopted his daughter, Asha, from his previous marriage to Margaret Kilgallen.

Selected solo exhibitions

Clare Rojas performs under the stage name Peggy Honeywell. She has released three albums: