Name Spencer Herr | ||
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Spencer Herr (born March 1974) is a self-taught artist from Phoenix, Arizona.[1] He currently lives in Asheville, North Carolina where he is represented by Betsey-Rose Weiss of American Folk Art & Framing.[2]
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Early life
Herr grew up in Phoenix, Arizona and attended Northern Arizona University where he received a degree in Parks and Recreation Management.[3] He moved to Virginia after college, working as a carpenter.[4] Herr eventually moved to Asheville where he currently has a studio and paints full-time. He lives there with his wife and two daughters.[5]
Career
Herr did not consider himself a good student in his youth. He felt that art was the best way he could contribute to the world. While living in a freezing, dilapidated house in 2004, Herr finally realized he wanted to pursue art further, despite have no formal art education beyond high school.[6] In 2006, Herr began to show his art publicly. He approached Betsey-Rose Weiss of American Folk Art & Framing the next year with a CD of his works. Upon viewing Herr's paintings, Weiss decided that he would be the first artist she would choose to represent as the new owner of the gallery. Almost all sales are made through his galleries, so Herr has very little contact with the collectors of his work.[7] Herr was exhibited at the 20th annual Outsider Art Fair in New York in January 2012.[8] His work was represented at the Outsider Art Fair by Marcia Weber Art Objects, a gallery that sells a large number of his works to collectors worldwide.
Themes and materials
Much of Herr's work is laden with spiritual allusions. His interest in religion can be seen in two of his older series based on Abraham's Covenant and the poetry of 13th century Persian mystic Rumi.[9] His series working man's mystic addresses the relationship between ego death and the desire to connect with God. His use of layering expresses an interest in the perception of memory. Herr often sacrifices realism for essence. Paintings of his daughters are not portraits of their physical characteristics, but rather they capture the girls' wonderment and innocence.[10] Having grown up in the southwest, Herr is fascinated with rough environments. His work represents this through journalistic portrayals of states of mind, as opposed to landscapes.[11]
Herr uses pencil, charcoal, house paint, and acrylics on canvas or birchwood. [12] He often uses leftover wood and paint that he finds from his job.[13]