Travis Somerville
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BIOGRAPHY

Travis Somerville was born in 1963 in Atlanta, GA. Growing up in towns throughout the southern United States and along the eastern sea board, he briefly studied at Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD, finally settling in San Francisco where he attended the San Francisco Art Institute, CA. His large scale oil paintings on paper mounted to canvas incorporate collage and present images of political and cultural icons associated with the history of the south. His work explores the complexities of racism and serves as a point of departure for discussion about US oppression and colonial attitudes abroad. It has been included in numerous museum exhibitions: Centro de Arte Contemporaneo de Malaga, Malaga, Spain; Walker Art Center,Minneapolis,MN; KMAC Museum, Louisville, KY; Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA; Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL; Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA; Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA; Charles Wright Museum, Detroit, MI; The Bass Art Museum, Miami Beach, FL; Frederick Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, MN; Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; The Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis, TN; Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, AL; and Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA.



RESUME

  • Born in Atlanta, Georgia, 1963
  • Lives and works in San Francisco, California

EDUCATION

  • 1984

    • San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, California

  • 1983

    • Independent Study with Jane Hammond, Baltimore, Maryland

  • 1982-3

    • Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

  • 2022

    • Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL

  • 2020

    • One Two Punch, Jack Fischer Gallery, San Francsico, CA

  • 2019

    • the content of our character, Southern Foodways Alliance and 21c Museum Hotels, Oxford, MS

  • 2018

    • The Line, Beta Pictoris /Maus Contemporary, Birmingham, AL Homeland Insecurity, Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast, Ireland UK

  • 2017

    • Homeland No Security, CAC Malaga, Spain

  • 2016

    • The New World, Ponce and Robles Gallery, Madrid, Spain

  • 2014

    • American Rhetoric, Beta Pictoris Gallery, Birmingham, AL

  • 2013

    • Rainbow Warrior, Earthbound Moon Project, Moriarty, New Mexico
    • Rebirth of a Nation, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California
    • A Great Cloud of Witnesses, Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco

  • 2011

    • Places I’ve Never Been, San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery, San Francisco California

  • 2010

    • Rededicated to the proposition…Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, California
    • …a portion of this field., Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles, California

  • 2009

    • Dedicated to the proposition…Ben Maltz Gallery, Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA

  • 2008

    • Authentic Facsimiles of a Nation, Caren Golden Fine Art Gallery, New York, New York

  • 2007

    • The Great American Let Down, Overtones Gallery, Los Angeles, California

  • 2006

    • American Cracker Too, Alfred C. Glassell Jr. Exhibition Gallery, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
    • American Cracker, Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, California
    • Peckerwood Nation, Nathan Larramendy Gallery, Ojai, California

  • 2004

    • More Songs of the South, Nathan Larramendy Gallery, Ojai, California

  • 2003

    • More Songs of the South, Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, California (catalogue)

  • 2002

    • Another Song of the South, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia

  • 2000

    • Song of the South, Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, California
    • Travis Somerville: New Work, University of Houston at Clearlake, Houston, Texas (catalogue)

  • 1998

    • The Land of Cotton, Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, California

  • 1996

    • I’ve Never Been to Aceldama: New Work (125th San Francisco Art Institute Anniversary
    • Exhibition), Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, California

  • 1994

    • Introductions, Morphos Gallery, San Francisco, California

  • 1994

    • Introductions, Morphos Gallery, San Francisco, California

  • 1993

    • Travis Somerville, Mace, San Francisco, California

  • 1992

    • Travis Somerville, Mace, San Francisco, California

  • 1991

    • Travis Somerville, Mace, San Francisco, California
    • Travis Somerville, Show N Tell, San Francisco, California

  • 1990

    • Travis Somerville, Mace, San Francisco, California

  • 1989

    • Travis Somerville, 1078 Gallery, Chico, California
    • Travis Somerville, Show N Tell, San Francisco, California

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

  • 2020

    • This Is America/Art USA Today Kunsthal KaDE, Amersfoort, Netherlands
    • Art at a Time Like This, Online Exhibition curated by Barbara Pollack and Anne Verhallen

  • 2019

    • The Expressionist Figure: The Miriam and Erwin Kelen Collection of Drawings, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
    • In The Hot Seat, Curated by Joey Yates, KMAC Museum, Louisville, KY

  • 2018

    • For Freedoms Billboard Project, Greensboro, NC
    • Trump Card, Transmission Gallery, Oakland, CA
    • Paper Cuts: Large Scale Collage, Palo Alto Arts Center, Palo Alto, CA
    • Into Action/For Freedoms, Los Angeles, CA

  • 2017

    • Political Gestures, Gallerie Hieke Strelow, Frankfurt, Germany
    • A Dark Matter, Tarble Arts Center, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL

  • 2013

    • Pulp3, Beta Pictoris Gallery, Birmingham, AL
    • White Boys, Haverford College, Haverford, Pennsylvania. Curated by Hank Willis Thomas and Natasha Logan

  • 2012

    • Newtopia: The State of Human Rights, Contemporary Arts Exhibition, Cultural Centre Mechelen, Belgium
    • Scheppers Institute, Academy of Fine Arts, Town hall, The Old Meat Market, Museum Hof of Busleyden, Lamot Conference and Heritage Centre, Brussels, Belgium. Curated by Katerina Gregos
    • Well-Division, On-Site Installation, Texas Contemporary 2012, Houston, Texas
    • Portraiture Post Facebook, Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, California
    • 2011 Reconsidering Regionalism: Images of the South 1951-2011, Jule Collins Smith Museum of Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama

  • 2010

    • Art Shack, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, California
    • Secret Drawings, Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto, California
    • PAPER!AWESOME!, Baer Ridgway Exhibitions, San Francisco, California
    • Altered States: The Collection in Context, Gatehouse Gallery, di Rosa Reserve, Napa, California
    • Collecting California, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, California

  • 2009

    • Lincoln: Man, Myth, and Memory, The Amistad Center for Art & Culture, Hartford, Connecticut

  • 2008

    • Reality Check, Overtones, Los Angeles California
    • The Audacity of Hope, Catherine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, California
    • Portraying Lincoln, Madden Arts Center, Decatur, Illinois

  • 2007

    • Civil Twilight, Electric Works, San Francisco, California
    • The Diane and Sandy Besser Collection, de Young Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, California(catalogue)
    • A House is Not a Home, curated by Beth DeWoody, Caren Golden Fine Art, New York, New York
    • smART, Moody Gallery, Houston, Texas
    • Martin Luther King Jr: Life, Times, and Legacy, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut
    • Breaking Ground Breaking, Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, California

  • 2006

    • Strictly Graphite* with a little bit of gouache, College of Marin Art Gallery, Kentfield, California

  • 2005

    • Art of Engagement, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, California (catalogue)
    • Worth a Thousand Words; The Book as Image, University Library Art Gallery, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park,California
    • The Other Mainstream: Selections from the Collection of Mikki and Stanley Weithorn, Arizona State University Art
    • Museum, Tempe, Arizona (catalogue)
    • Visual Politics: The Art of Engagement, Gibson Family Gallery and Plaza Gallery, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, California (catalogue)

  • 2003

    • Spectrum, Access Institute, San Francisco, California
    • Au Naturel, di Rosa Preserve: Art & Nature, Napa, California
    • What Lies B’(N)eath, Florida A & M University, Tallahassee, Florida (catalogue)
    • Sprout, Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, California
    • Cut, Copy, Paste: The Art of Contemporary Collage, de Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California
    • Whiteness, A Wayward Construction, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, California. Exhibition traveled to University of Virginia Art Museum, Charlottesville, Virginia ( catalogue)

  • 2002

    • In the Spirit of Martin: The Living Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. Exhibition traveled to Charles Wright Museum, Detroit, Michigan;
    • The Bass Museum, Miami Beach, Florida; Frederick Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, Minnesota;
    • The Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis, Tennessee; Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, Alabama (catalogue)
    • The Lost Frontier: SD02, Spruce Street Forum, San Diego, California

  • 2001

    • 10th Anniversary Exhibition, Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, California

  • 2000

    • Made in California, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California (catalogue)

  • 1999

    • Collector ~ Curator, Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, California
    • Spinal Epidural, Please! Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, California

  • 1997

    • Above the Border/Below the Border, Monte Clark Gallery, Vancouver, Canada (catalogue)

  • 1996

    • (Small) Discards, Secession, San Francisco, California
    • Consumption, Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, California

  • 1995

    • Shades, Consejo Mundila de Artistas Visuales, Mexico City, Mexico. Curated by Mark Mace

  • 1994

    • Something for Everyone, Morphos Gallery, San Francisco, California
    • Bibliophilia: Books by Artists, Morphos Gallery, San Francisco, California

  • 1991

    • Fresh Squeezed:Forty Artists from California, Budapest Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
    • The Collage of St.Catherine, Catherine G. Murphy Galleries, St. Paul, Minnesota

AWARDS/LECTURES/RESIDENCY

  • 2018

    • Artist in Residence Joan Mitchell Center, New Orleans, LA

  • 2017

    • Artist Lecture: A Dark Matter, Tarble Arts Center, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL

  • 2012

    • Artist Lecture Series: Travis Somerville, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California
    • Artist Lecture: Travis Somerville on Well Division, Texas Contemporary Art Fair, Houston, Texas

  • 2011

    • Artadia Fellowship Residency at the International Studio and Curatorial Program, New York
    • Sirius Arts Center Residency, Cork, Ireland

  • 2010

    • Joan Mitchell Foundation, New York, New York/li>
    • Dedicated to the proposition. Ben Maltz Gallery, Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, California.
    • Issues and Artists. The Arts, University of California Santa Cruz Media Theater, Santa Cruz, California

  • 2000

    • The Art Council Grant
    • Artist in Residence, University of Houston at Clearlake, Houston, Texas

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

  • Gregos, Katrina and Sorokina, Elena (Eds.). Newtopia: de staat van de mensenrechten (Exhibition publication). Mechelen,Belgium, Ludion: 2012 Ed. .“Participating Artists: Travis Somerville..” Newtopia: The State of Human Rights Contemporary Art Exhibition in Mechelen and Brussels. Mechelen, Belgium, Newtopia, 2012
  • Glentzer, Molly. .“Texas Contemporary Art Fair walks a fine line..” Houston Chronicle (online), October 18, 2012 - Link
  • Sussman, Matt. .“Uncomfortable Truths..” Guardian, October 12 .– 18, 2011
  • Reed-Davidson, Travis. .“Renewing our Dedication to the Proposition..” ROMAG (Otis College of Art and Design – Magazine), Vol 8, 2010
  • Scarborough, James. .“Travis Somerville at Charlie James Gallery..” Artillery, Volume 4, May/June 2010
  • Turner, Cherie Louise. .“Travis Somerville..” Visual Art Source, 2010
  • Stallings, Tyler. .“Collecting California Selections from Laguna Art Museum..” 2010
  • Linton, Meg, Mickalene Thomas. Travis Somerville, Dedicated to the proposition…2010
  • Melrod, Gerorge, Christian L. Frock, Universities Galleries..” Art Ltd, January 2010
  • Buckley, Annie. .“Artforum.com: Critics.’ Picks..” Artforum (online), October 27, 2009 - Link
  • Burgard, Timothy Anglin, Karin Breuer, and Jill D.’Alessandro. .“Keeping Up with Traditions, Contemporary Drawings in the Besser Collection..” The Diane and Sandy Besser Collection: A Gift to the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, 2007
  • Bisbort, Alan. .“Honesty at Last The Wadsworth Amistad Center Gets Maniacal About Lincoln..” Hartford Advocate, April 8, 2009
  • Young, Paul. “Home of the Brave.” Art Ltd, November 2008
  • Ed. “Art Day Part II.” http://www.napanest.typepad.com (online), July 2, 2008 - Link
  • Wolff, Rachel. .“Artist Travis Somerville has the World.’s Creepiest Basement..” - Link
  • Eastman, Dale. “A collector’s guide to the exploding art market.” San Francisco Magazine, January 2008.
  • SND. .“Travis Somerville, Clayton Murdach at Overtones..” http://www.uber.com, December 8, 2007 - Link
  • Tibbits, Ashley. .“Clayton Murdach and Travis Somerville: The Great American Let Down..” Flavorpill Los Angeles (online), November 3, 2007 - Link
  • Burgard, Timothy Anglin, Karin Breuer and Jill D.’Alessandro. The Diane and Sandy Besser Collection. San Francisco, California. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco: 2007
  • Feinstein, Lea. .“Grand Opening..” SF Weekly, June 13, 2007
  • Frock, Christian. Breaking Ground Breaking. San Francisco, California. Catharine Clark Gallery: 2007
  • Stuart, Reginald. .“The Ongoing Struggle to Finance Black History..” The Crisis, January/February 2007
  • Smith, Brianna. .“Cultural Stimuli in SF..” Flavor Pill (online), May 30 .– June 5, 2006
  • Singer, Matthew. .“Question Authority..” Ventura County Reporter, February 2006
  • Featured Artist. San Jose Museum of Art Brochure. January 2006
  • von Busack, Richard. .“No Blood for Oils..” Silicon Valley Metro, November 23 .– 29, 2005
  • Selz, Peter. Art of Engagement: Visual Politics in California and Beyond. Berkeley, California. University of California, Berkeley Press. San Jose Museum of Art, October 2005
  • Moore, Deborah. .“Southern Hospitality..” Montgomery Advertiser (online), November 2, 2004 - Link
  • Campbell, Rob. .“A Year in Review..” Santa Barbara Magazine, September 2004
  • .“Urban Life: Best Cultural Happenings..” San Francisco Magazine, July 2004
  • Bing, Alison. .“Hitting Home: The Work of Travis Somerville and Jessamyn Lovell..” Kitchen Sink, June 2004
  • Selz, Peter. .“Reviews: Travis Somerville at Catharine Clark..” Art in America, March 2004
  • Woodard, Josef. .“No Holds Barred with this Exhibit..” The Los Angeles Times, February 5, 2004
  • Campbell, Rob. .“Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah: Travis Somerville Rips Apart Racism while Whistling Dixie..” Ventura Country Reporter, January 29, 2004
  • Laramendy, Nathan. .“More Songs of the South..” Voice, January 19, 2004
  • Phelps, Jesse. .“More Songs of the South: Socio-historical with Bite..” Ojai Valley News, January 7, 2004
  • Takhar, Amrieka, .“Whiteness, A Wayward Construction..” Stretcher (online), January 3, 2004 - Link
  • Spalding, David. .“Outside the Lines: Conversations with John Bankston and Travis Somerville..” Artweek, November 2003
  • Campbell, Clayton. .“The Last White Art Show..” FlashArt, October/November 2003.“