Clayton Salley is a contemporary art jeweler and metalsmith, and a current MFA candidate and instructor of Studio Art, Jewelry and Metal Arts, at the University of Iowa. In 2025, Salley completed a Creative and Performing Arts Fulbright Fellowship in Tainan, Taiwan. Salley previously received an MA, from the University of Iowa, in Studio Arts: Jewelry and Metal Arts in 2024, and a BFA, from Tech University, in Studio Arts: Jewelry Design and Metalsmithing in 2022.
Salley’s artwork is regularly exhibited nationally and internationally, having recently been included in the highly esteemed CraftForms 2024 exhibition (as the first ever artwork in their “3D” category—showcasing new craft forms created using computer aided design processes), the Kentucky Museum, the Dubuque Museum of Art, the SNAG x San Diego conference, and in Taiwan at the New Taipei City Arts Center.
As part of his combined studio and education practice, Salley publicly lectures, and has recently presented about his art field and practice at the Taiwan National University of the Arts, Banqiao, Taiwan, the Tainan National University of the Arts, Tainan, Taiwan, the 2024 Texas Metals Symposium at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, and virtually at the Hubei Institute of Fine Arts, Hubei, China.
