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 Burden of Consequences, 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, California
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 Exhibit), Catharine Clark 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,
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
2008 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
2010 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
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 <www.artforum.com>
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 <http://napanest.typepad.com/flourish/>
Wolff, Rachel. .“Artist Travis Somerville has the World.’s Creepiest Basement..” http://www.nymag.com, January 10, 2008 < http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/01/10/>
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 <http://uber.com/snd>
Tibbits, Ashley. .“Clayton Murdach and Travis Somerville: The Great American Let Down..” Flavorpill Los Angeles (online), November 3, 2007 <http://flavorpill.com/losangeles/events/2007/11/3/the-great-american-let-down-works-by-claytonmurdach-and-travis-somerville>
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
<http://sf.flavorpill.net/current_mailer.jsp#cracker>
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
<http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/NEWS/StoryLifestylecopydeborah05.htm>
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
<http://www.stretcher.org/reviews/rev6.php>
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
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