Brian Lee Clements is a multipotentialite and naturally, a collector of skills. Just as a fine-furniture woodworker advances the craft by acquiring technique-specific tools, Brian collects skills to expand his repertoire, which allows him to take on more diverse projects and use multiple visual languages and techniques to make sense of the world. As such, the following bio is categorical, rather than chronological.
Brian Lee Clements holds a Bachelor of Science in geophysics (2013), a Master of Science in geology (2015), and is a professional subsurface geologist for the California Geological Survey, in the Geologic Carbon Sequestration Group; but, first and foremost, Brian is a multidisciplinary artist at the intersection of journalism and design.
Brian has pursued graphic design formally and informally since a teen. Over the multiple decades of practicing graphic design in analog and digital form, Brian has amassed a skillset that includes bespoke, hand-coded websites for artists and galleries, typographic design for websites, brochures, and posters, logo + identity systems for independent consultants and private industry, and screen printing for guerrilla advertising. Brian’s design sensibility is influenced by independent magazine design, poster design, and the interplay of letterforms. This sensibility ultimately led to pursuing letterpress printing and building a private letterpress studio in a spare bedroom to house a large Showcard Press, a few antique wood type cabinets, and a growing collection of nineteenth and early twentieth century metal and wood fonts.
Brian trained as an analog film photographer in the early- to mid-90s, and gravitated towards the intimacy and slowness of large format (4x5) environmental portrait photography. Brian uses photography for fine art image making, but also as a visual extension of his independent, journalistic pursuits (transverse RANGES + proof). Brian’s current format of choice is full frame digital, but similar to large format photography, he places importance on the frame. Brian's portrait sensibility is influenced and inspired by the environmental portrait work of Rineke Dijkstra, Judith Joy Ross, August Sander, Richard Renaldi, Albrecht Tübke.