Vaughn Spann

Born 1992 in Florida, USA
Currently lives and works in Newark, New Jersey

Education 

2018
Master of Fine Arts in Painting & Printmaking, Yale School of Art, New Haven, CT

2014
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art, Rutgers State University, Newark, NJ

Solo Exhibitions

2021
West Bund Art & Design, Shanghai, China
'Pups!', Almine Rech, Shanghai, China
'Vaughn Spann : Lineage', Samek Art Museum, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, US

2020
Smoke Signals, Almine Rech, Brussels, Belgium 
The Heat Lets Us Know We’re Alive, Almine Rech, New York, NY
'Vaugn Spann : Open Onto', Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO, USA

2019
Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, David Castillo, Miami, FL
Scorched Earth and The Weeping Sun, Kaikai KiKi, Tokyo, Japan
Dalmatian Paintings, Night Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

2018
Orange, Yellow, Purple, Blue Skies, Half Gallery, New York, NY  

Group Exhibitions 

2023
'Au bout de mes rêves', Vanhaerents Art Collection, Tripostal, Lille, France 

2022
'In Our Time: Selections from the Singer Collection', Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, Arizona, US
'Phraseology', The Bass Museum of Art, Miami, Florida, US
'Fire Figure Fantasy: Selections from ICA Miami’s Collection', ICA Miami, Florida, US

2021
Montclair Art Museum, New Jersey, US
'Salon de Peinture', Almine Rech, New York, USA
‘Un Hiver à Paris’, Almine Rech, Paris, France

2020
'Painting Someone’, Almine Rech, Shanghai, China
'Sympathetic Magic', Blum and Poe, Los Angeles, CA
'Polyphonic': Perez Art Museum, Miami, FL

2019
‘New Acquisitions’, Rubell Museum, Miami, FL ‘Disembodiment’, UTA Artist Space, Beverly Hills, CA
‘Painting Is Its Own Country’, Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts +Culture, Charlotte, NC
Lineup, curated by Alex Bacon, Almine Rech, New York, NY
Unparalleled Journey through Contemporary Art of Past 50 Years,
Rubell Museum, Miami, FL
NXTHVN: FIRST YEAR FELLOWS, Tilton Gallery, New York, NY
Young, Gifted and Black, Selections from the Lumpkin-Boccuzzi
Family Collection,Concordia College, Bronxville, NY
Domestic Horror, Gagosian Gallery, New York, NY
The Barn Show, Johannes Vogt Gallery, East Hampton, NY
As Long as We’re Flying…, Luce Gallery, Turin, Italy

2018
Rubell Family Collection: New Acquisitions, Miami, FL
The Strangeness Will Wear Off, David Castillo Gallery, Miami, FL
Early 21st Century Art, Almine Rech, London, UK
Familiar Boundaries. Infinite Possibilities, August Wilson Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Shifting Gaze: Selections from the Collection of Dr. Robert B. Feldman, Mennello Museum of American Art, Orlando, FL
A Scratch In Time, Thierry Goldberg Gallery, New York, NY
If I Go There, I Wont Stay There, LTD Los Angeles, CA
Paradise, Night Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Four Artists (Felipe Baeza, Anja Solonen, Jenna Gribbon and Vaughn Spann), Fredericks & Freiser, New York, NY
Eight Emerging Artists, Steven Zevitas Gallery, Boston, MA
Way Out Now, Diane Rosenstein Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
The New Contemporaries, Residency Gallery, Inglewood, CA
Countervisuality, Bellevue College Gallery, Bellevue, WA
Kaleidoscope, Kravets and Wehby Gallery, New York, NY

2017
Universal Belonging, Prizm, Miami, FL
Feast, Yale School of Art, New Haven, CT
Higher Ground, Mercer Contemporary, New York, NY
Exchange, Rush Gallery, Chelsea, NY

2016
First Time, Yale School of Art, New Haven, CT
Black Joy, Edgewood Gallery, New Haven, CT

2015
Power, Protest and Resistance, Skylight Gallery, New York, NY
After Afropolitan, Weeksville Heritage Center/CCCADI, New York, NY

2014
For Whom it Stands, Reginald F. Lewis Museum, Baltimore, MD

Residencies/Honors

2019
Titus Kaphar’s NEXT HAVEN RESIDENCY

2018
New American Paintings Cover Artist (Issue No.135) 

2017
Alice Kimball English Traveling Fellowship
Leopoldo Villareal III Scholarship, Yale University

Public Collections

Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, US
Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, US
Montclair Art Museum, New Jersey, US
Brooklyn Museum, New York, US
North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, US
Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami
Hirshhorn Museum, DC, US
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY, US
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, US
Circus Five Art Foundation, Istanbul, Turkey
Cc Foundation, Shanghai, China
Perez Art Museum Miami, Miami, FL
The Zuzeum, Riga, Latvia
High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA
UBS Art Collection, New York, NY
Rubell Family Collection, Miami, FL
Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection (The Bunker), West Palm Beach, FL Jimenez-Colon Collection, Ponce, Puerto Rico
Credit Suisse Corporate Collection, Zürich, Switzerland

Selected Catalogues

2020
'Vaughn Spann', Maritza Lacayo, Mark Rappolt, Almine Rech Editions

Selected Bibliography

2024
Soto, Valerie. "Dior's Lady Art Project Returns With Stunning Artist-Made Bags." L'OFFICIEL, ​​​​​​​November 14, 2024.
Judkis, Maura. "Nearly 100 artworks that diagnosed America well before the election." The Washington Post, November 13, 2024.
Diderich, Joelle. " Artists’ Versions of Lady Dior Handbags Are Full of Hidden Meanings." Women's Wear Daily, October 10, 2024.

2023
Mac Adam, Alfred. "Vaughn Spann: Trilogy." The Brooklyn Rail, November 2023.
Moore, Charles. " Crain Currency’s Art Corner: Trilogy fuses fear and fascination." Crain Currency,  October 31, 2023.
Bratter, Jesse. "Discover Miami’s nonprofit spaces and private collections." Art Basel Miami Beach Magazine, 2023.

2022
Alleyne, Allyssia. "Inside My Collection: Vaughn Spann." Artsy,  February 15, 2022. 
Gassmann, Gay. "Artist Vaughn Spann Shares His Picture-Perfect Midcentury Home." Architectural Digest, July 18, 2022. 

2021
Rosard, Gary.  "A Young Artist in his Mid-Century Modern House." Gary Rosard Architect, February 22, 2021

2020
Kordic, Angie. “Brussels Gallery Weekend 2020 Returns, Stronger Than Ever!” Widewalls, August 27, 2020.
de Molinari, Diane. “‘Smoke Signals’: pourquoi il ne faut pas rater cette expo à le rentrée?” L’Officiel Belgique, September 2nd, 2020. 
Bradshaw, Lisa & Crew, Sarah. “What’s on this week: 4-10 September.”
The Bulletin, September 3rd, 2020.
Ruiz, Mauricio. “Traveling Through Art : Smoke Signals by Vaughn Spann.“ Travel Tomorrow, September 4th, 2020.
Paulus, Manon. “Vaughn Spann, Il N’y a Pas De Fumée Sans Feu.“
Mu in the City, September 18, 2020.
White, Katie. “‘His work is a Way to Grapple With the Politics of Living Today’: Dealer Almine Rech on Painter Vaughn Spann’s New Show in Brussels.” Artnet News, September 23, 2020.
Harper, Diara. “Vaughn Spann’s New Paintings Remind Us to Make Time for Healing.” Artsy, September 24, 2020.
Smith, Julia. “Vaughn Spann / ‘Smoke Signals’ / Almine Rich Brussels.” Flaunt, October 9, 2020.
Valloire, Delphine. “Le fabuleux destin de Vaughn Spann.” L’Officiel, Fall 2020 Issue.
Armstrong, Annie. “Why Artists Change Galleries.“ Artsy, January 27, 2020.
Kinsella, Eileen. “It’s Like a Dance: How Painter Vaughn Spann Became a Breakout Star at Yale While Raising Two Young Kids at the Same Time.“ Artnet News, January 23, 2020.
Crow, Kelly. “A Boundry-Busting Artist Seeks to ‘Learn Through the Chaos.“ The Wall Street Journal, January 2020.
Bogojev, Sasha. “The Heat Lets us Know We’re Alive: Vaughn Spann Opens A Solo Show @ Almine Rech, NYC.“ Juxtapoz Magazine, January 14, 2020.
“Editors’ Picks: 20 Things Not to Miss in New York’s Art World This Week.“ Artnet News, January 13, 2020.
Cartter, Eileen. “All My New Yorkers, Which Is the Best Seat (to Take You to the Shows Opening This Week)?“ Garage, January 12, 2020.

2019
Rees, Lucy. “How Artist Vaughn Spann Is Pushing Boundaries With HIs Poetic Works.” Galerie Magazine, October 9, 2019.
Sang, Elliot. “How Vaughn Spann Became The Art World’s New Favorite Painter.“ Highsnobiety, April 24, 2019.
“The Rising Star : Vaughn Spann Has arrived.“ Juxtapoz, March 26, 2019.
Sargent, Antwaun. “The 6 Rising Artists to Watch in 2019.” 
W Magazine, January 29, 2019.

2018
“Vaughn Spann’s ‘Orange, Yellow, Purple, Blue Skies’ at Half Gallery, New York.” Blouin Artinfo, December 15, 2018. 
Reyburn, Scott. “Why Painting Isn’t As Elitist As You Might Think.”
The New York Times, December 14, 2018.
Kazakina, Katya and Palmeri, Christopher. "A Handcuffed Madoff Interests Wilbur Ross on Miami Art Trip," Bloomberg, December 9, Cohen, Alina. “The Artists Everyone Talked About During Art Basel In Miami Beach.” Artsy, December 7, 2018.
“6 Emerging Artists To Seek Out During Art Basel Miami Beach This Week.” Artnet News, December 4, 2018.
Cascone, Sarah. “Editor’s Picks: 17 Things Not To Miss In New York’s
Art World This Week.” Artnet News. November 26, 2018.
Indrisek, Scott. “17 Shows You Need To See During Frieze Week In London.” Artsy, October 1, 2018.
“‘If I go there, I won’t stay there’ at Ltd Los Angeles.”
Contemporary Art Daily, November 4, 2018.
Laster, Paul. “See Highlights of Expo Chicago 2018.”
Galerie Magazine, October 1, 2018.
Sargent, Antwaun. “Where ‘Block Party’ Has a Score of Meanings.”
The New York Times, August 16, 2018.
Berg, Tatiana. “Must-See Art Guide: Boston.” Artnet News, July 26, 2018.
Cascone, Sarah. “Editors’ Picks: 12 Things Not to Miss in New York’s Art Wor-ld This Week.” Artnet News, July 9, 2018.
Goldstein, Caroline. “Beat The Heat With These 19 Summer Group Shows On View Now In New York.” Artnet News, July 4, 2018.
“Photo Story: Gallery Hopping on Opening Night in Chelsea (June 22, 2018).”Arte Fuse, June 26, 2018.
“NAP Artist on View: Vaughn Spann and Anja Salonen.”
New American Paintings, June 24, 2018.
Bray, Nicole. “Artist Spotlight: VAUGHN SPANN. A Rising Star of Materiality and Abstraction.” artREAL, January 18, 2018.
Sargent, Antwaun. “How Black Artists, Dealers, and Collectors Are Boosting the Careers of Their Younger Peers.” Artsy, December 14, 2018. Ward, Kaitlyn and Moreno, Andrea. “Tracking the Curation Process: Road Trip.”
Sotheby’s Institute of Art, October 12, 2018.