ARTIST BIO
Carlton Scott Sturgill was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1971 and is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati (B.A. 2002) and Chelsea Collage of Art and Design (M.A. Fine Art 2005) in London, United Kingdom. His multidisciplinary body of work ranges from painting, sculpture, collage, and installation using a wide variety of materials, with an emphasis on repurposed everyday objects. His site-specific floral installations created using second-hand button down shirts have been displayed in settings as diverse as the Drifter Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, Pegasus Bank in Dallas, Texas, and as part of the New York City Arterventions public art program. Mr. Sturgill’s work has been exhibited in galleries and museums both nationally and internationally, including the Cornell Museum of Art in Delray Beach, Florida, Temple Bar Gallery in Dublin, Ireland, the Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans, and the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art in New York City. He is represented by Jonathan Ferrara Gallery in New Orleans, where he has lived since 2015.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Inspired by the bedroom communities of the Midwest, my work examines the dichotomy between public persona and private behavior as it relates to domestic life. Using materials sourced from the suburban landscape, such as second-hand wedding clothing, paint chip samples from Home Depot and luxury items from the all-American company Ralph Lauren, along with imagery and text appropriated from the Casual Encounters section of Craigslist, I investigate the conflict between our need to explore our deepest desires and our longing to appear as ambassadors of a white-picket-fence America. My paintings, sculptures and mosaics use the vernacular of the American heartland to scratch the surface of suburban pretense, exploring the compulsion to both veil ourselves behind the facade of the American Dream and our longing to expose our most intimate moments through the wormhole of electronic media.
EDUCATION
2005 MA, Chelsea College of Art and Design, London, UK
2002 BFA, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
SOLO AND TWO-PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2021 Life in Bloom, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA
2018 Something Old/Something New, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA
2017 Glass Houses, Engine Room Art + Projects, New Orleans, LA
2016 Garden of Delights, Vanderbilt Republic, Brooklyn, NY
2015 If We'd Never Seen the Sea, Undercurrent Projects, New York, NY (TWO-PERSON with Rebecca Nison)
2011 Casual Encounters, Masters & Pelavin Gallery, New York, NY
2010 Private Space/Public Face, Giacobetti Paul Gallery, Brooklyn, NY (TWO-PERSON with Raghava KK)
2009 Re:Ralph, Eye Level BQE Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2008 Afterlifestyle, Art Academy of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
2006 A Private View, Toni Heath Gallery, London, UK
2004 Backyard Games, York Street Gallery, Newport, KY
2003 HEADLINE: 1971-2003, SSNOVA Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH
SITE-SPECIFIC INSTALLATIONS
2018 Branded Rose Yellow, in conjunction with Jonathan Ferrara Gallery and Jammin' on Julia, New Orleans, LA
2017 Branded Rose Yellow, The Drifter Hotel, New Orleans, LA
2015 Branded Rose Bushwick, in conjunction with Norte Maar, Brooklyn, NY
2014 Bridge of Flowers, in conjunction with Arts Gowanus and the NYC Dept. of Transportation, Brooklyn, NY
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2020 Inspiration in Isolation, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA
2018 Tech Effect, Cornell Art Museum, Delray Beach, FL
Art Market San Francisco, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Art on Paper Art Fair, Armory Arts Week with Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New York, NY
2017 PULSE Contemporary Art Fair, Miami Art Week with Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, Miami, FL
Ephemera Obscura, Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans, New Orleans, LA
Garden of Earthly Delights, Claire Elizabeth Gallery, New Orleans, LA
2016 εὖτόπος (Eutopia), Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, Staten Island, NY
Fake, Undercurrent Projects, Brooklyn, NY
Wild, Cornell Art Museum, Delray Beach, FL
2015 Hot & Sticky, Smith&Jones, Brooklyn, NY
ArtWorks Gowanus, Site: Brooklyn Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
THE(un)SCENE Art Show, Armory Arts Week, New York, NY
S(P)LICE, Undercurrent Projects, New York, NY (co-curated with Roberta Kent)
2014 Year End Review, Court Tree Collective, Brooklyn, NY
Art From the Heart, Gowanus Loft, Brooklyn, NY
Benefit Exhibition for BalletX, Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Subtle Approach, BAC Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2013 Small Works Show, 440 Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Starting Small, Porter Contemporary, New York, NY
2012 NURTUREart Benefit, Charles Bank Gallery, New York, NY
2011 Cutters, The Parlour, Curated by Ugly Art Room, Brooklyn, NY
Coming Soon, Giacobetti Paul Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2010 Exposure, ICA Gallery, Curated by NUDEwithaGOOSE, New York, NY
2009 You're Dead To Me, Eye Level BQE Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn Artillery, Castle Braid, Brooklyn, NY
INTRO SHOW, MadArts Studios Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Kinsey Institute Juried Art Show, Indiana University SoFA Gallery, Bloomington, IN
The Dirty Show X, Bert's Warehouse Theater, Detroit, MI
2008 Square Foot, AWOL Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2007 Reconfigured, The Basement Gallery, Knoxville, TN
Private Prop., The Residence Gallery, London, UK
America, Altered Esthetics Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Open 07, Bow Arts Trust, London, UK
multicomplexificationalities, Nunnery Gallery, London, UK
Anonymous Drawing 4, blütenweiss, Berlin, Germany
The Dirty Show 8, Bert’s Warehouse Theater, Detroit, MI
Disposable Fetish, Nunnery Gallery, London, UK
2006 Open 06, Bow Arts Trust, London, UK
2005 A Moment In Time, Temple Bar Gallery & Studios, Dublin, Ireland
artbelowzero, Westbourne Studios, London, UK
MA Shows 05, Chelsea College of Art and Design, London, UK
American Elusive, Lounge Gallery, London, UK
Big Makes Me Feel Good, Triangle Space, London, UK
2004 heartFELT, Northern Kentucky University Gallery, Highland Heights, KY
2003 A Very American X-mas, The Mockbee Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
2002 StudioWorks II: Directors’ Choice, Reed Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
DAAPWorks, University of Cincinnati Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
PRESS
Corcoran, Heather. "In New Orleans, a Team of Creative Collaborators Resurrects a Down-on-its-Luck Motel." The Architects Newspaper 28 May 2018
DeRenzo, Nicholas. "The New Hotel Top 20." United Airlines Hemispheres Magazine 1 May 2018
Dunbar, Folwell. "Portrait of a Creative Space: The Studio of Carlton Scott Sturgill." VioNolaVie 20 April 2018.
Kennon, Alexandrea. "Mansion, Hotel, Hostel, Motel." Country Roads 25 January 2018
Hansen, Kristine. "Checking In: The Drifter Is a Design Inspired Motor Lodge in New Orleans." Hunker 29 January 2018
Fleming, Garrett. "New Orleans' The Drifter Hotel." Design Sponge 5 December 2017
Bookhardt, D. Eric. "The Power of Objects in Ephemera Obscura." The Gambit 18 September 2017
D'Addario, John. "Memories and Secrets: Artists dig deep in CAC's stunning 'Ephemera Obscura.'" The New Orleans Advocate 29 August 2017
Steussy, Lauren. "There is such a thing as utopia: 'Eutopia' exhibit at Snug Harbor." SILive 25 July 2016
Levit, Donny. "Hidden in Full View: Artist Carlton Scott Sturgill's 'Garden of Delights' at Gowanus Loft." Park Slope Stoop 7 April 2016
Thomason, John. "Natural Beauty, Pointed Commentary Infuse Wild." Boca Magazine 29 January 2016
Johnson, Paddy. "Bushwick Open Studios: Where Artists Run the Show." ArtFCity 11 June 2015
Seftel, Briana. "A Bushwick Open Studios Recap of Jefftown." Bushwick Daily 9 June 2015
Sutton, Benjamin. "Your Concise Guide to the 2015 Bushwick Open Studios." Hyperallergic 1 June 2015
Lin, Kemy. "New York's Armory Week Anti-Fairs: Clio and (Un)Scene." Hyperallergic 8 March 2015
"Best of Brooklyn: Unique Gowanus Art." News 12 Brooklyn 29 October 2014
Fleming, Olivia. "Artist Turns Unwanted Ralph Lauren Shirts Into Roses." The Daily Mail UK Online 20 October 2014
Hurowitz, Noah. "Artist adorns Gowanus Canal with 'Roses' made from Ralph Lauren shirts." The Brooklyn Paper 24 October 2014
"Gowanus Open Studios to Give Public Behind-The-Scenes Look at Local Artists." NY1 News 17 October 2014
Chin, Heather J. "Bridge of Flowers Brightens Gowanus." Home Reporter 17 October 2014
Hoffman, Ashley. "This Artist Made Roses Out of Ralph Lauren Shirts No One Wanted." Styleite.com 17 October 2014
Steinhauer, Jullian. "Your Concise Guide to Gowanus Open Studios 2014." Hyperallergic 16 October 2014
Malone, Basak. “The New Collectors Book" 2014
"Brooklyn Arts Council Features New Exhibit." News 12 Brooklyn 12 August 2014
"OtherPeoplesPixels Interviews Carlton Scott Sturgill." 21 July 2012
Maselli, Giovanna. "A Casa Di Keith Haring." Urban Italia April 2010
Goodman, Wendy. The Cut, New York Magazine, Design Hunting, (Blog). 4 March 2010
Goodman, Wendy. "In the House of the Radiant Baby." New York Magazine 1 February 2010
Durrell, Jane. "Afterlifestyle Review." CityBeat 2 December 2008
Le Feurve, Lisa. “Gutter Dreams” 2006
“Lifting the Curtain.” Creative Week September 2006
Aitken, Clare. “A Private View.” Flaverpill LND September 2006
Gargano, Jason. “Playful Subversion: The Deceptive Art of Carlton Scott Sturgill.” CityBeat 10 November 2004
Bernzott, Julie. “Look Here!” CityBeat 3 November 2004
Gargano, Jason. “Headline: 1971-2003.” CityBeat 1 October 2003