Cliff Tresner comes from a farming background on the plains of Illinois/Indiana. He attended Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN, and awarded the BFA degree in Sculpture/Woodworking, 1990. From there he came to the south, attending The University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS receiving his MFA degree in sculpture, 1994.

Mr. Tresner has been teaching sculpture and drawing at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, LA since 1997. He has received many grants and awards including the Louisiana Division of Arts Fellowship, Northeast Louisiana Arts Council’s “Artist of the Year Award”, second place award in the National Outdoor Sculpture Competition, Lakeland, FL, and has received numerous Career Advancement Grants from the Louisiana Division of the Arts.

Mr. Tresner has an extensive exhibition record in drawing, painting and sculpture. His recent focus has been on large-scale outdoor public sculpture with exhibitions in FL, NC, VA, LA, AL, NY, NC, and MS.

He is serves the community as director of the University of Louisiana’s Sculpture Garden, a exhibition space devoted to bringing artists from around the nation to the University and local community, Director of the University’s Bry Hall Gallery, exhibiting artists of all disciplines, serves as President of the Twin City Art Foundation in support of the Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, LA and is currently historian of Kappa Pi International Art Fraternity.