Carlton Newton, former professor of sculpture, was granted the title of Professor Emeritus by the Department of Sculpture + Extended Media this summer. Carlton, who retired from VCUarts in 2017, taught in the sculpture program for 30 years and served as interim chair from 2012–14. Together with his wife, fellow Professor Emeritus Elizabeth King, Newton helped the department become the number one sculpture program in the country.
“Carlton created our very first multimedia computer lab as early as 1993 and nurtured its growth alongside our shops and studios for decades to come,” says Mary Eisendrath, interim chair and assistant professor of sculpture. “His service to VCU has included lectures, guest studio visits, and substantial contributions to VCU’s Latin American exchange programs. Those of us with the pleasure of working with him as students, colleagues, and fellow artists all know Carlton‘s contemplative pause and its ensuing wisdom and insight, without which the department would not be what it is today.”
Newton’s artistic practice has spanned sculptures in wood, metal and plaster, integrating holography, optical engineering, and virtual reality into both his projects and the sculpture department’s facilities. His work has been exhibited at the New Museum in New York, The American Academy in Rome, The Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Newton has also been the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, the American Academy in Rome Prize in Sculpture, and a Virginia Commission for the Arts Fellowship.
Image: Carlton Newton at Reynolds Gallery. Photo by Mark Gormus for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.