About
KAMARIA SHEPHERD
Born August 5, 1991 in Houston, Texas.
Lives and studies in Los Angeles.
I am an MFA candidate in Painting and Drawing at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). I have a BFA in Painting from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) with a concentration in Literary Arts. My work subtly revolves around issues of identity, memory, race, culture, womanhood, and femininity as an African American woman in the United States and beyond while the pieces themselves wave between minimal and excess, bold and subtle, loud and intimate, to speak or not to speak. I simultaneously write about my work and the thoughts surrounding the processes of my work in a hybrid of poems, personal narratives, and short stories. I use found materials such as clothing, bath rugs, and pearl earrings, giving citation to the presence of a body , a female, domesticity. I make paintings as objects, sculptures, or painted sculptural paintings. My sculptural paintings are called play-doh's and are installed in ways where they make connections or conversations with each other while representing their own distinct personalities, like the parts of a person. Thus, each piece can be shown in a group installation or individually like a second grader ready to present for show-and-tell. They perform.
CV
EDUCATION
2018 (Anticipated) - University of California (UCLA), MFA Painting and Drawing
2015 - Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), BFA Painting, Literary Arts Concentration
2014 - European Honors Program, RISD, Rome, Italy
2014 - Tyler School of Art Summer Painting Intensive, Philadelphia, PA
2012 - Ox-Bow School of Art, Glass, Saugatuck, MI
2008 - Diploma with Visual Arts Concentration, Visual Arts Teaching Certification, High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Houston, TX
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2011-2013 - El Centro de Corazon Clinic, Houston, TX
2008 - Martel Scholar Solo Exhibition, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Houston, TX
2008 - Houston Independent School District, Administrative Headquarters Lobby, Houston, TX
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2017- Open Studios,Warner Studios,
Culver City, California
2016 - Open Studios, Warner Studios, Culver City, California
2016 - Open Studios, Warner Studios, Culver City, California
2015 - Senior Degree Project Exhibition, Woods Gerry Gallery, Providence, RI
2015
2014 - Hot Box, Ice Box, Philadelphia, PA
2014 - Palazzetto Cenci, Rhode Island School of Design, Rome, Italy
2014 - Circolo Degli Artisti, Rome, Italy
2014 - Tiny Biennale, Temple University, Rome Campus, Rome, Italy
2012 - Group Gallery Exhibition, Ox-Bow School of Art, Saugatuck, MI
2012 - Fellowship Student Exhibition, Ox-Bow School of Art, Saugatuck, MI
2010 - Painting Departmental Exhibition, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
2010 - Shoulder to Shoulder Foundation, Baylor College of Medicine, Santa Ana, Honduras
2008 - The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Senior Show Exhibition, Houston, TX
AWARDS
2015-17 - Resnick Scholarship
2015-17 - D’Arcy Hayman Scholarship
2015-17 - Webster Art Scholarship
2015-17 - UCLA Graduate Department of 2015-17Art Scholarship
2015-17 - Art TA Fellowship
2014 - Tyler School of Art Summer Painting Intensive Scholarship
2014 - European Honors Program Scholarship
2012 - Ox-Bow School of Art Fellowship Student
2010 - University of Rhode Island Summer Writing Conference Scholarship
2008-2014 - Dean’s List, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
2008-2014 - Rhode Island School of Design Merit Scholarship