Bio
Spencer Evans is a native of Houston, Texas. He earned his Bachelor's degree in fine art from the University of Missouri in 2009 with an emphasis in drawing and painting and earned an MFA from the University of Texas at Arlington.
Artist Statement
The aim of my work is to contextualize relationships between internal conflict and external circumstance based on my experience. My choice of clothing and dramatic poses/facial expressions in the work is used to reference shared experiences rooted in identity and culture within the Black community. I see Black expression as a heroic form of communication from one generation to the next because it has existed despite direct violent opposition since my ancestors were brought to American shores. It is heroic as overt revolutionary acts as well as survival-based assimilation and everything in between. I am attempting to depict the spirit of this world of expressions in each work, from the subtly nuanced to the polarized. It is free for everyone to witness and enjoy our songs; however, I am speaking to those who know.
CV
EDUCATION
2017 MFA University of Texas at Arlington. Arlington, TX
2009 BFA Drawing, Painting. University of Missouri, Columbia, MOSOLO EXHIBITIONS
2019 “In My Image”. Dallas Museum of Art. Dallas, Texas 2018 “I Am Because We Are”. Conduit Gallery. Dallas, Texas 2017 “The Veil’s Farewell”. Brazos Gallery. Dallas, Texas “Journey Mercies”. Arthello Beck, Jr. Gallery. Dallas, Texas 2016“My Dear”. Imago Gallery and Cultural Center. Columbia Missouri 2015“Color Me Different”. Gallery 343. Arlington, Texas GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2019 “Three the Hard Way”. The Houston Museum of African American Culture. Houston, Texas 2018 “Evolution Art Exhibit”. Dallas City Hall. Dallas, Texas. “Black History Month Exhibition”. Capital One Headquarters. Plano, Texas “Oso Bay Biennial XX”. Wiel Gallery. Corpus Christi, Texas 2017 Jack Whitten Earlier Works-Guest Artist. Bivins Gallery. Dallas, Texas “Blk Art 214”. Arthello Beck, Jr. Gallery. Dallas, Texas 2016 “Art Past and Present”. The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. Dallas, Texas “Ideas in Art Winners Exhibition”. Gallery West. Arlington, Texas “530 Collective”. Deutsch Kerrigan LLP. New Orleans, Lousiana “Temporary Collectives”. 500 Singleton. Dallas, Texas “Paper Weight”. Conduit Gallery. Dallas, Texas “Free People”. Janette Kennedy Gallery. Dallas, Texas 2015 “Consortium”. 500 Singleton. Dallas, Texas “Rising Star 3”. Turner House. Dallas, Texas 2014 “Houston Magazine Release Gala”. Featured Artist. Fiat Showroom. Houston, Texas 2008 “Paper In Particular”. The Sidney Larson Gallery. Columbia, Missouri COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS 2007 25 ft Mosaic Beacon at Kashmere High School, Houston, TX AWARDS 2018 Awarded participation in the 2019 Visiting Artist Project. Dallas Museum of Art. Dallas, Texas 2017 College of Liberal Art’s Dean’s Travel Award Winner McDowell International Research Grant Recipient Contemporary Art Dealers of Dallas Fund Winner College of Liberal Arts Scholar Award Dorothy Aderholt Memorial Scholarship Award Winner (Arlington Arts League) Nasher Sculpture Center Microgrant Finalist Blk Art 214 Best in Show Award 2016 Dorothy Aderholt Memorial Scholarship Award-Winner (Arlington Arts League) 2015 Art Kudos International Juried Art Competition and Exhibition Finalist Ideas in Art Scholarship Winner Enhanced Graduate Teaching Assistantship Award Contemporary Art Dealers of Dallas Fund Finalist LECTURES, PRESENTATIONS, WORKSHOPS 2019 "The Creative Wealth in Black Expression". Texas Southern University. Houston, Texas “The Connections of Cultural Expression”. Dallas Museum of Art. Dallas, Texas “The Ever-Changing Pattern”. Rhode Island School of Design. Providence, Rhode Island 2018 “My Magnificent Obsession” The Meadows School of Art, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX “The Relationships between Social Justice issues in the Black American community and Sudan” (Research and Mural Project). United States Embassy, Khartoum, Sudan “Walking in your Purpose”. Arthello Beck Gallery. Dallas, Texas “I Am Because We Are”. Conduit Gallery. Dallas, Texas 2017 “The Importance of Maintaining an African-Centered Mindset in the Black Community”. Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary. Ogbomoso,Oyo, Nigeria “The Veil’s Farewell”. Brazos Gallery. Dallas, TX “Art and Research Residency in Nigeria”. University of Texas at Arlington. Arlington, TX “Journey Mercies”. Arthello Beck Jr. Gallery. Dallas, TX The Similarities and Differences of Black American & Nigerian Identity. Lagos, Ile Ife, Ilorin,Ibadan, and Ogbomosho, Nigeria 2016 “Using Your Unique Expression to Tell Your Story”. University of Missouri. Columbia, MO “My Dear”. Imago Gallery and Cultural Center. Columbia, MO “Approachable Me”. Center for African American Studies. University of Texas at Arlington. Arlington, TX 2015 Graduate Lectureship Seminar. "Masking in the work of Kehinde Wiley". The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Forth Worth, TX Collections The Wright Museum Sudan University of Applied and Fine Arts