Vaughn Spann devotes his practice to abstraction and figuration as an investigation into space, time and memory. He locates subjects from deeply personal spaces as he reconciles with his body within and out of the studio. With a deep admiration for formalism, he enjoys approaching paintings through the lens of color, line, and shape, but seemingly understands that one's subjectivity can't simply be divorced from the studio. For him, a form is a striking means of generating content in ways that are compelling. His formal investigation permeates throughout his paintings, symbolically reflecting his encounters with diverse people and places. Through his well-known stylistic separations, Spann continues to vigorously experiment with unconventional materials and expands on his personal and historical narratives.
Vaughn Spann
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Vaughn Spann, Canyon Run (my big black rainbow), 2018
Polymer paint, flashe, terry cloth, canvas on aluminum stretcher bars
229 x 203 cm
90 x 80 inches -
Vaughn Spann, Beach Side, 2019
Oil paint, canvas on aluminum stretcher bars
90 x 80 x 1 3/8 in
231.1 x 208.3 x 7.9 cm -
Vaughn Spann, Cosmic Symbiote (Marked Man), 2019
Polymer paint, mixed media on aluminum stretcher bars
84 x 84 1/8 x 1 3/4 in
213.4 x 213.7 x 4.4 cm
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Vaughn Spann, Lost in a Sea of White, 2019
Polymer paint, mixed media, resin on wood panel
30 x 24 x 4 3/4 in
76.2 x 61 x 12.1 cm
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Vaughn Spann, Basking in the wind, 2019
Oil on canvas
84 x 90 x 1 1/4 in
213.4 x 228.6 x 3.17 cm
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Vaughn Spann, Parisian Girls, 2019
Oil on canvas
89 1/4 x 80 x 1 1/4 in
226.8 x 203.2 x 3.17 cm
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Vaughn Spann, Untitled (Flag), 2019
Polymer paint, terry cloth and mixed media on canvas
84 x 84 x 1 1/2 in
213.4 x 213.4 x 3.81 cm
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Vaughn Spann, Deep Six (Night Blue), 2019
Polymer paint, fabric and mixed media on canvas
46 x 40 x 1 1/2 in
116.8 x 101.6 x 3.81 cm
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Vaughn Spann, Golden Valley, 2019
Polymer paint, fabric and mixed media on canvas
46 x 40 x 1 1/2 in
116.8 x 101.6 x 3.8 cm
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Vaughn Spann, Nothing but time in between us , 2019
Polymer paint, fabric and mixed media on canvas
Overall: 84 x 96 x 2 in; 213.4 x 243.8 x 5.1 cm
Each: 42 x 96 x 2 in; 106.7 x 243.8 x 5.1 cm
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Vaughn Spann, A house built for a king (Sepulture), 2019
Polymer paint and mixed media on canvas
84 x 84 x 2 1/2 in
213.4 x 213.4 x 6.35 cm
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Vaughn Spann, Sweet Red, 2019
Polymer paint and mixed media on wood panel
30 x 24 x 3 in
76.2 x 61 x 7.62 cm
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Vaughn Spann, Transient (Marked Man), 2019
Polymer paint and mixed media on wood panel
60 x 48 x 2 1/4 in
152.4 x 121.9 x 5.71 cm
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Vaughn Spann, Tango, 2019
Mixed media, Polymer paint, canvas on stretcher bars
304.8 x 228.6 cm
120 x 90 in -
Vaughn Spann, Soul of a nation (homage), 2019
Mixed media, Polymer paint, canvas on stretcher bars
304.8 x 228.6 cm
120 x 90 in -
Vaughn Spann, Rain Dance, 2019
Mixed media, Polymer paint, canvas on stretcher bars
330.2 x 223.5 cm
130 x 88 in -
Vaughn Spann, Fleeting memories and lasting moments, 2019
Mixed media, Polymer paint, terry cloth,
canvas on stretcher bars - Diptych
304.8 x 457.2 cm
120 x 180 in -
Vaughn Spann, The exchange (north star), 2020
Polymer paint, fabric, mixed media on canvas
228.6 x 381 x 8.9 cm
90 x 150 x 3 1/2 in -
Vaughn Spann, Dusk, 2020
Mixed media, Polymer paint on wood panels
136.7 x 155.7 cm
53 3/4 x 61 1/4 inches -
Vaughn Spann, Firestorm, 2020
Mixed media, Polymer paint on wood panels
136.7 x 155.7 cm
53 3/4 x 61 1/4 inches -
Vaughn Spann, Untitled (stormy), 2020
Mixed media, Polymer paint on wood panels
136.7 x 155.7 cm
53 3/4 x 61 1/4 inches -
Vaughn Spann, Flood, 2020
Mixed media, Polymer paint on wood panels
136.7 x 155.7 cm
53 3/4 x 61 1/4 inches -
Vaughn Spann, Inferno, 2020
Mixed media, Polymer paint on wood panels
96.9 x 63.9 x 8 cm
38 1/8 x 25 1/8 x 3 1/8 inches -
Vaughn Spann, Untitled (blue fragment), 2020
Mixed media, Polymer paint on board, wood frame with glaze
73.9 x 52.1 cm
29 1/8 x 20 1/2 inches -
Vaughn Spann, The Vision (bluejays), 2020
Mixed media, Polymer paint, silk, paper, canvas on stretcher bars
121.9 x 106.7 cm
48 x 42 inches -
Vaughn Spann, Vanquish, 2020
Mixed media, Polymer paint on wood panel
152.4 x 121.9 x 7.6 cm
60 x 48 x 3 inches -
Vaughn Spann, Untitled (Lightyear), 2020
Mixed media, Polymer paint on wood panel
152.4 x 121.9 x 7.6 cm
60 x 48 x 3 inches -
Vaughn Spann, Autumn breeze, 2020
Mixed media, Polymer paint on wood panel
152.4 x 121.9 x 7.6 cm
60 x 48 x 3 inches -
Vaughn Spann, Untitled (The gardener), 2020
Mixed media, Polymer paint on wood panel
152.4 x 121.9 x 7.6 cm
60 x 48 x 3 inches -
Vaughn Spann, Rover, 2020
Mixed media, Polymer paint on wood panel
152.4 x 121.9 x 7.6 cm
60 x 48 x 3 inches -
Vaughn Spann, Warm and fuzzy, 2020
Mixed media, Polymer paint on wood panel
152.4 x 121.9 x 7.6 cm
60 x 48 x 3 inches -
Vaughn Spann, Sentinel, 2020
Mixed media, Polymer paint on resin cast panels with aluminium braces
304.8 x 457.2 x 8.9 cm
120 x 180 x 3 1/2 inches -
Vaughn Spann, A journey of a thousand miles, 2021
Polymer paint, fabric, mixed media on canvas
228.6 x 381 x 8.9 cm
90 x 150 x 3 1/2 in -
Vaughn Spann, (The Resurrection) Marked Man, 2021
Mixed media, Polymer paint on resin cast panels with aluminum braces
299.7 x 453.4 x 9.5 cm
118 x 178 1/2 x 3 3/4 in
(diptych: 59 x 178 1/2 x 3 3/4 in, each) -
Vaughn Spann, A promise of sunshine after the rain, 2021
Polymer paint, terry cloth, canvas on stretcher bars
204.5 x 214.6 x 4.4 cm
80 1/2 x 84 1/2 x 1 3/4 in -
Vaughn Spann, Carolina Blues (Marked Man), 2021
Polymer paint, mixed media, canvas on wood panel
214 x 214.2 x 7.6 cm
84 1/8 x 84 1/8 x 3 in -
Vaughn Spann, Into the blue and out of the black, 2021
Mixed media, terry cloth, silk, velvet, flashe paint, dye on canvas
80 1/4 x 70 1/4 x 1 3/4 (unframed)
208.3 x 182.9 x 7.9 cm - 82 x 72 x 3 1/8 in (framed)
Exhibitions
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Reflections: Refractions
— • Paris, Turenne -
Pups!
— • Shanghai -
August Presentation
— • Aspen -
June Presentation
— • Aspen -
Salon de Peinture
— • New York -
Un Hiver à Paris
— • Paris, Front Space -
Painting Someone, Group show
— • Shanghai -
Smoke Signals
— • Brussels -
The Heat Lets us Know We're Alive
— • New York -
Lineup
— • New York -
Early 21st Century Art, Organized with Bill Powers
— • London
Museum Exhibitions
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In Our Time: Selections from the Singer Collection
— • Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, US -
Phraseology
— • The Bass Museum of Art, Miami, US -
Fire Figure Fantasy: Selections from ICA Miami’s Collection
— • ICA Miami, US -
Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe, Vaughn Spann, Genesis Tramaine
— • Rubell Museum, Miami, US -
'Behind This Wall'
— • Longlati Foundation, Shanghai -
Spotlight
— • Vanhaerents Art Collection, Brussels -
‘Lineage’
— • Samek Art Museum, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, US
Selected press
- Victor Vaughns JR. - '31 Most Loved Fashion Items from Black-owned Brands', WWD, February 17, 2021 — 239.7 kB
- "5 Artists the Artnet Gallery Network Is Keeping an Eye on This Fall", Artnet News, October 23, 2020 — 589.8 kB
- Annie Armstrong - "Why Artists Change Galleries" - Artsy - January 27, 2020 — 542.0 kB
- Eileen Kinsella - "‘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 — 3.8 MB
- Kelly Crow ‘A Boundry-Busting Artist Seeks To 'Learn Through the Chaos'’, The Wallstree Journal, January 2020 — 320.7 kB
- Sasha Bogojev - The Heat Lets us Know We're Alive: Vaughn Spann Opens A Solo Show @ Almine Rech, NYC - Juxtapoz Magazine, January 14, 2020 — 1.1 MB
- "Editors' Picks: 20 Things Not to Miss in New York's Art World This Week," artnet news , January 13, 2020. — 1.6 MB
- Eileen Cartter - "All My New Yorkers, Which Is the Best Seat (to Take You to the Shows Opening This Week)?", Garage - January 12, 2020. — 1.1 MB
- Lucy Rees, 'How Artist Vaughn Spann Is Pushing Boundaries with His Poetic Works' , Galerie Magazine, October 9, 2019 — 1.1 MB
- 'The Rising Star : Vaughn Spann has arrived', Juxtapoz, March 26, 2019 — 1.3 MB
- Elliot Sang, 'How Vaughn Spann Became the art World's New Favorite Painter', Highsnobiety, April 24, 2019 — 1.3 MB
- 10-23-2020_Artnet — 589.8 kB
- Antwaun Sargent, 'The 6 Rising Artists to Watch in 2019', W Magazine, January 29, 2019 — 299.0 kB
- Vaughn Spann and Allyssia Alleyne, 'Vaughn Spann on 9 Black Artists He’s Excited about Now', Artsy, January 31, 2022 — 166.9 kB
- Gay Gassmann, 'Artist Vaughn Spann Shares His Picture-Perfect Midcentury Home', Architectural Digest, June 23, 2022 — 812.2 kB