Tara Conley is a multidisciplinary artist based in Houston, Texas, known for her inventive use of materials such as fiber, steel, bronze, and fiberglass.
A graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology’s School for American Crafts in Metalsmithing and Jewelry, Conley transforms industrial media into organic, expressive forms, often incorporating humor and text into her work. Her sculptures range from intimate bronze phrases that play with light and shadow to large-scale public installations.
Notable projects include a major commission for Texas Tech University (2013) and a 2015 public art installation for the City of Houston’s Fondren Police Station. Her immersive installation My Life as a Doll was featured in her first museum exhibition at the Houston Museum of African American Culture. Conley’s work has been highlighted in publications such as Texas Artists Today and Touching Fiber Arts.
EDUCATION
1988
BFA, Rochester Institute of Technology, School for American Crafts, Rochester, NY
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025
Forthcoming, The Nave Museum, Victoria TX
2024
Lost and Found, ELLIO Fine Art, Houston, TX
Making Ends Meet, Rockport Center for the Arts, Rockport, TX
2022
Moving Still, ELLIO Fine Art, Houston, TX
2021
I Think I'm Here, PAC Gallery, Lee College, Baytown, TX
Breathe, Wellville Campus, Round Top, TX
2019
Gymnopedie, Winston Contemporary Art, Houston, TX
2015
My Life as a Doll & Telling the Truth in an Imaginary Place, Tara Conley & Tria Wood,
Houston Museum of African American Culture, Houston, TX
2012
My Life as a Doll, Tara Conley & Tria Wood, Diverse Works, Houston, TX
2011
Word for Word, Laura Rathe Fine Art, Houston, TX
2009
Let Me See, Goldesberry Gallery, Houston, TX
2008
I Hear You, New Gallery, Houston, TX
2006
Uprights, New Gallery, Houston, TX
2004
Tara Conley, Mike Weiss Gallery, New York, NY
2005
Rebecca Flew, North Harris College, Houston, TX
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2020-25
Persistence, Walter Anderson Museum of Art, Ocean Springs, MS
2020
Richmond Avenue Public Art Project, Phase One, Houston, TX
2020
Forging Strength: The Art of Labor, Hibernia Memorial Park Invitational, New Orleans, LA
2019
Whistler Contemporary Art Group Exhibition, Whistler, British Columbia, Canada
2018
Art Everywhere, SCOPE, Basil, Switzerland
Art in Nature Summer 2018, Splendora Gardens, Cleveland, TX
2015
True South, Houston, TX
Tara Conley/Karen Hawkins: Suspended Fiction, Laura Rathe Fine Art, Dallas, TX
2014
Kemp Center for the Arts Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition, Wichita Falls, TX
2011
Crafting Live(s):10 Years of Artists-in-Residence, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, TX
2010
Abilene Sculpture Exhibition: 30 Years Revisited, Center for Contemporary Arts, Abilene, TX
Louise Bourgeois Tribute Exhibition, Darke Gallery, Houston, TX
2009
Hunting Art Prize Finalist, Houston, TX
Texas Twang, Shift Gallery, Seattle, WA
2007
Maquette Exhibition, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA
Camp Marfa Invitational, Marfa, TX
2006
Sculpture Vision, North Harris College, Houston, TX
2004
Tango, Mike Weiss Gallery, New York, NY
2002
Steel Grrrls, The Jonson Gallery, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
PUBLIC ART COLLECTIONS & COMMISSIONS
2025
MetroNational, 920 Memorial City Way, Houston, TX
2024
SKANSKA,1550 On the Green, Houston, TX
2023
MetroNational, 800 Gessner, Houston, TX
2019
Triple-S Steel, Houston, TX
2019
Houston Audubon Society, Houston, TX
2018
Lake Park Pearland LTD., Pearland, TX
2017
Helis Foundation, Poydras Corridor, New Orleans, LA
Henry and Pat Shane Sculpture Park, Kenner, LA
Lauricella Land Co., LLC, Elmwood Shopping Plaza, New Orleans
2015
City of Houston, Houston Police Department Fondren Patrol Station, Houston, TX
2013
Texas Tech University, Rawls College of Business, Lubbock, TX with Artist Joe Barrington
2008
Sculpture for New Orleans, Lafayette Square, New Orleans, LA