DestrySparks

So far as an artist I’ve concentrated on painting.  I find the work of Gregory Amenoff, Marsden Hartley, Anselm Kiefer and Joan Miro particularly inspiring.  The study of art history provides me with a springboard from which to jump into personal explorations.


I like to push painting a bit into different directions.  I attach objects to the painted surface for example to provide a textured element atypical of the traditionally flat plane of painting.  But I retain the rectangular format characteristic of painting across styles and periods.  While the edges of the rectangle may be rough with things poking out a bit, viewers will readily interpret the work as a painting not a sculpture.


I paint on burlap instead of canvas.  This accentuates the criss-cross pattern of the cloth threads when paint is applied.  So while the material is fairly uncommon in the history of painting, it acts to amplify the presence of the painter’s hand on the surface rather than conceal it.  I seek not to fool the eye with realism; my goal is to make clear this is a made thing, a painted work of art.


Burlap fits with my choice of other meager, often well-worn materials.  I use discarded items such as rusted bottle caps and small broken mechanical parts alongside ‘worthless’ natural items like sticks and smashed pine cones.  This suggests all the affairs of humanity and every tiny part of the natural world are part of a divine plan.  There really is no junk; everything and every person has a beauty and a part to play.  Using windows for frames is a way to say, “look into this different spiritual dimension”.



Destry Sparks

                                                         DESTRY S. SPARKS
                                                          338 Haven Dr. S-3
                                                        Greenville, NC 27834
                                                         Cell (252) 341-1875
                                                       www.destrysparks.com
                                                    destry3334me@hotmail.com

EDUCATION

2009   Penland School of Crafts   Creative Capital Professional Development Workshop   Penland, NC

1990   East Carolina University   B.A. Anthropology, Art Minor   Greenville, NC


SELECT SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2012   North Carolina Wesleyan College   Mims Gallery   Rocky Mount, NC

2011   New American Art Studio   New York, NY

2011   St. Thomas University   Sardinas Gallery   Miami, FL

2011   Art Works Studios and Galleries   Jane Sandelin Gallery   Richmond, VA

2011   University of North Carolina at Charlotte   Student Union Art Gallery  Charlotte, NC

2010   Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History   Boatwright Gallery   Danville, VA

2008   Flanders Art Gallery   Local Artists Program   Raleigh, NC

2006   Greene County Museum of Art and History   Snow Hill, NC


SELECT GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2012   ‘Looking For Answers’   Flynndog   Burlington, VT

2012   ‘LAYERS’   Art Works Studios and Galleries   Richmond, VA

2011   Marina Reiter Studio   Bushwick Open Studios   Brooklyn, NY

2011   ‘Natural Selection 2.0’   Dakota State University   Madison, SD

2010   Stefan Maguran Gallery   Plympton, South Australia

2010   ‘Block Party’   Artwell Gallery   Torrington, CT

2010   Earth Day Recycle Art Show   Plant Zero Project Space   Richmond, VA
            Jurors:  Glenda Kotchish and Heather Russell   Third Place

2009   National Collage Society 25th Annual Exhibit   Mason Murer Fine Art   Atlanta, GA

2009   ‘My Space on 7th’   Touchstone Gallery   Washington, DC

2009   The 2nd International Society of Acrylic Painters Online International Open Exhibition   First Place

2007   ‘Signs, Symbols & Gestures’   Gallery Project   Ann Arbor, MI

2007   Raleigh Fine Arts Society 29th Annual Artists Exhibition   Meredith College   Raleigh, NC
           Juror:  Brian Dursum, Director/Chief Curator of the Lowe Art Museum at the University of Miami 

2006   ‘Aha! Epiphanies & Breakthroughs’   Union Street Gallery   Chicago Heights, IL  
            Juror:  Byron Roche, Byron Roche Gallery Chicago

2006   Wayne County’s 27th Annual National Juried Fine Arts Exhibition
           Juror:  Dr. Eric Denker, Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and Senior      
           Lecturer at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC
           Wayne County Arts Council   Goldsboro, NC

2006   Eastern Carolina Regional Juried Fine Arts Show   First Place, Mixed Media
           Juror:  Jennifer Hodges, Interim Director of the Greenville Museum of Art
           Craven Arts Council and Gallery   New Bern, NC

2005   51st Annual Juried Art Show   Durham Art Guild   Durham, NC
           Juror:  Judy Chicago, Artist and Lecturer


EXPERIENCE

2012   Flynndog   I will serve as artist/curator for the group exhibition, ‘Looking for Answers’, featuring national caliber artists Josh Dorman, Melissa Ann Lambert, Jan-Ru Wan and Jane Horner.  The community art space is located in Burlington, VT.

2012   Art Works Studios and Galleries   I will serve as artist/curator for the group exhibition, ‘LAYERS’, featuring national caliber collage artists.  The venue is located in Richmond, VA.

2011-1994   Arts Alive Magazine   I cover visual arts as a writer for this regional arts magazine based in Morehead City, NC.  Topics include show reviews, arts festivals and competitions, and highlighting the ECU African Art Collection.  I spoke in public schools to promote the inaugural ECU/GMA Youth Arts Festival.  I am responsible for regional distribution of the magazine to arts venues.

2011   Dakota State University   I served as guest curator for Gallery Director Alan Montgomery.  About twenty works in ‘Natural Selection 2.0’ highlighted a diverse range of international artists using natural materials or those particularly inspired by the natural world.  Dakota State University is in Madison, SD.

2010   University of North Carolina at Charlotte   I assisted Student Union Gallery Manager Zach Schaff as a curatorial consultant.   I suggested a series of contemporary artists to show and discuss their work with the campus community and specifically in art classes to generate interest before shows opened.
2010   Twin Rivers Artists Association   I served as juror for the 2010 members art show held at the Craven Arts Council and Gallery in New Bern, NC.

2009  LabourLove Gallery  I served as a guest curator at this Durham, NC gallery.  I selected five artists with ties to the unconventional natural materials I use in painting.  Alongside contemporary paintings in the exhibition were large metal sculptures and small fiber based works with ceramic elements.  To promote the ‘Natural Selection’ exhibition I contacted media outlets including newspapers and magazines.

2006-2005  Eastern Carolina Visual Arts Consortium  I promoted this regional arts association by distributing marketing pieces from the greater Raleigh area throughout Eastern North Carolina.


PUBLICATIONS

April 16, 2011   ‘The Fine Art of Connection’   www.artsyshark.com
August 25, 2010   ‘Top regional artists featured’   Sun Journal   New Bern, NC
July 2010   ‘The Spiritual Made Tangible’   Evince Magazine   Danville, VA
June 16, 2010   ‘Danville Museum of Fine Arts to hold artists reception’   Altavista Journal   Altavista, VA
April 9, 2010   ‘Artists association honors exhibit winners tonight’   Sun Journal   New Bern, NC
March 6, 2010   ‘Destry Sparks’   www.aestheticsnow.com
Spring 2010   ‘Destry S. Sparks’   St. Thomas University Alumni Contact Newsletter   Miami Gardens, FL
February 2, 2010   ‘Destry Sparks – USA’   OutsidersFestival.blogspot.com/     
December 3, 2009   ‘LabourLove celebrates like-minded artists’   The Duke Chronicle   Durham, NC
November 14, 2009   ‘LabourLove Gallery/Natural Selection’   Painterly Visions   Washington, DC
November 12, 2009   ‘LabourLove Gallery Opens Natural Selection’   This Is Diversity   New York, NY
November 1, 2009   ‘NCS 25th Juried Exhibit’   Exhibition Catalog   National Collage Society Hudson, OH  
November 1, 2009   ‘Eastern NC Artists Exhibit in Durham’   Arts Alive Magazine   Morehead City, NC
March 1, 2008   ‘Gloria Dei Art Exhibit’   Arts Alive Magazine   Morehead City, NC  
November 28, 2007   ‘Markers and Milestones’   Metro Times   Detroit, MI
November 26, 2007   ‘Symbols of the Everyday’   The Michigan Daily   Ann Arbor, MI
December 14, 2006   ‘Worthless Scraps Converted to Cosmic Art’   The Free Press   Kinston, NC
December 1, 2006   ‘Greene Museum Hosts Art of Sparks’   Arts Alive Magazine   Morehead City, NC  
November 29, 2006   ‘Destry Sparks at Greene County Museum’   The Standard Laconic   Snow Hill, NC


ONLINE PROJECTS/PORTFOLIOS

www.artistsspace.org
www.brooklynartproject.com
www.northcarolinaartists.net
www.inkstonegallery.com
www.twogalleries.net 
www.linkedin.com
www.twitter.com
www.facebook.com


COLLECTIONS

St. Thomas University   Miami, FL
Dakota State University   Madison, SD
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden   Richmond, VA
Carteret County Museum of Art and History   Morehead City, NC