clay·ton/kl’eitәn/
surname
a derivation from the 7th century term "clorg-tun" which means "village on the clay."
por·ter/’pôrdәr/
noun
a person employed to carry luggage and other loads, especially in a railroad station, airport, or hotel.
Clayton Porter (b. 1980) is an American multimedia artist living and working in the southwestern United States. He spent his early childhood on the front-range of eastern rural Colorado Springs and would spend the rest of his formative years in the city proper after his parents’ divorce. Porter was accepted into the undergrad program at the former College of Santa Fe and graduated with a BFA in mixed media and a minor in art history.
During his time at college, Porter’s mother died due to complications with breast cancer. Fifteen years later, his father died after being diagnosed with colon cancer. Unsurprisingly, his work as a nascent artist was informed by his intimate involvement with death. Additionally, he was strongly influenced by his exposure working for SITE Santa Fe and for New Mexico-based artist Bruce Nauman.
Porter’s work in some instances can be interpreted as irreverent having strong conceptual underpinnings exploring the artist's body as art tool as well as topics of impermanence and nostalgic longing.
Clayton Porter is also a contributor to The Magazine, a publication of Southwest Contemporary.