Richard Speer
Author/Art Critic/Curator
Website:
www.richardspeer.com
E-mail: richardspeer@gmail.com
Curriculum Vitae
Current and Recent Projects
Author
• The Space of Effusion: Sam Francis in Japan (Scheidegger & Spiess, 2020)
• Journey to the Third Dimension: Tom Cramer (Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, 2019)
• David Borgerding: Significant Forms (Callan Contemporary, 2018)
• Eric Wert: Still Life (Pomegranate Books, 2018)
• Dunbar (Callan Contemporary, 2018)
• Peter Halley: Boats Figures Trees Crosses 1977-78 (Karma NYC, 2017)
• HALLEY/MENDINI (Mary Boone Gallery, 2013)
• Henry Hillman: Illuminating the Fourth Dimension (Elizabeth Leach Gallery, 2008)
• Matt Lamb: The Art of Success (John Wiley & Sons, 2005, revised edition 2013)
• Echoes Among the Tides (Centre Picasso, 2003)
Curator
• Sam Francis in Japan: Emptiness Overflowing (Los Angeles County Museum of Art, scheduled for April-September 2021, Resnick Pavilion, co-curated with Hollis Goodall [LACMA curator of Japanese art] and Leslie Jones [LACMA curator of drawings and prints])
• Journey to the Third Dimension: Tom Cramer Drawings and Paintings 1974-2019 (Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, University of Oregon, Eugene. August 17-December 29, 2019, Artist Project Space.)
• Curatorial grant from the Sam Francis Foundation
• Exhibition documentation and support grant from the Ford Family Foundation
Arts Journalist
Articles, essays, and reviews in:
• The New York Post
• The Chicago Tribune
• The Los Angeles Times
• Newsweek
• Salon
• Opera News
• Willamette Week, Pulitzer Prize-winning alternative newsweekly in Portland, Oregon (Visual-arts critic 2002-2015)
• The Oregonian
Visual Arts Critic
• Contributing critic and feature writer, ARTnews
• Contributing editor, Visual Art Source
• Contributing editor, Art, Ltd.
• Contributing critic and feature writer, GLASS Quarterly
• Contributor, Surface Design
• Contributing feature writer, Digital Photo Pro
• Contributor, The Huffington Post
Author of catalogue essays for exhibitions of contemporary artists such as:
• Peter Halley at Karma (New York, NY)
• Peter Halley and Alessandro Mendini's collaboration at Mary Boone Gallery (New York, NY)
• Jun Kaneko's New Glass at Bullseye Gallery (Portland, OR)
• Eva Hild's sculpture at Gallery Bienvenu (New Orleans, LA)
• Jessica Loughlin and Silvia Levenson at SOFA West 2009 (Santa Fe, NM)
• Gregory de la Haba's Between Nothingness and Paradise at Bridge Art Fair Wynwood (Miami, FL)
• Joe Thurston's abstract paintings at Elizabeth Leach Gallery (Portland, OR)
• Matt Lamb's exhibition, Lamb Encounters Picasso at the Centre Picasso (Horta, Spain)
• Matt Lamb's exhibition, Lamb Encounters Miró at the Centre Miró (Mont-roig, Spain)
• Henry Hillman, Jr.'s glass sculpture at Elizabeth Leach Gallery (Portland, OR)
• Key-Sook Geum's exhibition, Moving or Dancing at Gallery Bienvenu (New Orleans, LA)
• Milton Rosa-Ortiz's exhibition, REVIVIR at Gallery Bienvenu (New Orleans, LA) and Prospect.1
• Michael Kessler's exhibition, Calvin Cycles at Gallery Bienvenu (New Orleans, LA) and Red Dot Art Fair (Miami, FL)
• Barry Mack's exhibition, Natural Forces at Lawrence Gallery (Portland, OR)
• Raine Bedsole's sculpture and paintings at Gallery Bienvenu (New Orleans, LA)
• Selena Engelhart's exhibition, Cosmology at Atomic Café (Santa Fe, NM)
Editor, Matt Lamb Blog, the official blog of the estate of Irish-American painter Matt Lamb (1932-2012), and the Matt Lamb Facebook Fan Page
Lecturer
Topics include: contemporary art criticism; the components of an effective artist statement; the current state of broadcast, cable, and online news; and contemporary challenges in journalistic ethics. Talks and PowerPoint presentations address academic, institutional, and corporate audiences including:• The University of British Columbia
• The Pacific Northwest College of Art
• Portland State University
• Portland Community College
• The National Coalition of Independent Scholars
• ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries
• Newspace Center for Photography
• The Veterans of Foreign Wars
• Bullseye Glass Company
• The Atlas Society
• Alberta Arts Foundation
• Beaverton Arts Commission
• Marty Rudolph Seminars
• Portland City Club
Click here for more information about lectures and seminars.
Editor/Co-author/Writing and Public Relations Consultant
Collaborative editorial and public-relations projects have spanned a wide range of corporate, small-business, non-profit, and private clients. Projects have included:
• Co-authoring the nonfiction book proposal, A Child Divided, with Susan Buchweitz
• Editing the nonfiction book, Advertising: Industry in Peril, (Perfect Paperback, 2006) by John Michelet
• Providing strategic public relations counsel, on-air reports, and videotape-editing consultation for the television pilot FreeNation.TV
• Aiding in planning and execution of FreeNation.TV's participation in the annual convention/trade show of the National Association of Television Production Executives (NATPE)
• Writing press releases/catalogue essays for Gallery Bienvenu (New Orleans, LA)
• Acting as liaison between KFSM-TV (CBS affiliate in Fayetteville/Fort Smith, AR) and public relations staff at Saint Edward Mercy Medical Center, in the coordination of medical reports to run on KFSM's newscasts
• Facilitating media coverage for Wiederkehr Wineries (Altus, AR); Café Chisme (Van Buren, AR); James at the Mill restaurant (Fayetteville, AR), Inn at the Mill (Fayetteville, AR), and Chez Charles restaurant (Eureka Springs, AR).
Education
Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, University Honors Program graduate, Nicholson School of Communication, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida
Communications/Journalism major; Humanities minor
Studied humanities under Professor Daniel R. White
Directed studies under Dr. White focused on aesthetics, gender studies, and ethics, resulting in:
a monograph examining the visual metonymy of rectilinear abstraction from dialectical and Gestaltist perspectives
a monograph considering whether gender identification and sexual orientation have epistemological antecedents, and if so, whether such antecedents are a priori or empirical
a short story dramatizing the dynamic between metaphysics, ethics, and action; and exploring dialecticism and utopianism in the vein of Aldous Huxley's Point Counter Point
Member of Phi Kappa Phi (academic honor society); Sigma Delta Chi (honorary journalism fraternity); Phi Eta Sigma (academic honor society); Golden Key International Honor Society; and "Who's Who Among American College Students"
Graduate, Central Florida Lyric Opera Resident Singer's Training Program
Valedictorian, Zweibrücken American High School, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
Past Projects and Work Experience
Wrote and produced updates for anchors Steve Rondinaro, Robin Chapman, Wendy Chioji, and Scott Hanson.Anchor/Reporter, KFSM-TV (CBS affiliate), Fayetteville/Fort Smith, Arkansas
Co-anchored top-rated 6 and 10 pm weekend newscasts; covered local and national politics, local censorship/civil liberties issues, and features, specializing in medical news and reports about visual arts, architecture, and the culinary arts; profiled Frank Lloyd Wright protégé E. Fay Jones, architect and passive solar design pioneer James Lambeth, and gourmet chefs Charles Clark, Cheryl Cuzco, and Miles James; served as Managing Editor for weekend newscasts, supervising weekend staff, providing direction to weekend reporters and producers, and acting as liaison between weekend and weekday staff; reported general assignments during the week with multiple daily live shots; helped maintain and update the station's interactive website.Weeknight Co-Anchor, 5 News on Fox-46, KPBI-TV (FOX affiliate), Fort Smith, Arkansas
Co-anchored 9 pm newscast produced by KFSM and aired live on KPBI-TV.Anchor/10 p.m. Producer, WJTV (CBS affiliate), Jackson, Mississippi
Anchored weeknight News Now and hourly prime-time news updates at this powerhouse station in Mississippi's capital city; produced the station's flagship weeknight newscast, JTV12 News at 10.6 and 10 p.m. Anchor/Reporter, WHLT-TV (CBS affiliate), Hattiesburg/Laurel, Mississippi
Co-anchored weeknight 22News at 6; produced and anchored 22News at 10; reported general assignments; did live shots for WHLT, WJTV, and CONUS; profiled opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti and U.S. Senator Trent Lott.10 p.m. Co-anchor/Reporter, WHLT-TV, Hattiesburg/Laurel, Mississippi
Weekend Anchor/Weekday Reporter/Fill-in Weathercaster WHLT-TV, Hattiesburg/Laurel, Mississippi
Editor/Assistant Producer, WESH-TV (NBC affiliate), Orlando, Florida
Wrote news copy and edited videotape for weekday 5 pm and 6 pm newscasts; edited videotape for hour-long 2News Weekend Sunrise and 2News at Noon.Newswriter/Overnight Update Producer, WESH-TV, Orlando, Florida
News Reporter/Anchor, 89.9 WUCF-FM, Orlando, FloridaNews Intern, WESH-TV, Orlando, Florida
News Intern, WFTV-TV (ABC affiliate), Orlando, Florida
(Additional responsibilities as assistant to Action Reporter Todd Ulrich.)Anchor/Producer, Student Standpoint, a weekly half-hour cable talk show produced in the studios of the University of Central Florida and aired throughout the state.
Announcer/Music Deejay, 89.9 WUCF-FM, Orlando, Florida
Assistant Tour Guide, "Top Tours," Kaiserslautern, Germany
Assisted tour guide Kay Taylor on double-decker luxury bus tours from Germany to Amsterdam and London; gave presentations on artist Vincent Van Gogh in preparation for tours of the Vincent Van Gogh Museum; assisted in all aspects of tours to The Hague, Vollendam, Madurodam Miniature Park, and Scheveningen boardwalk in the Netherlands; and Windsor Castle, the Tower of London, "Beefeaters" Medieval Extravaganza, and Buckingham Palace's Changing of the Guard in London.Solo Pianist and Accompanist, German-American Institute, Saarbrücken, Germany
Performed solo piano concerts and as operatic/Broadway accompanist as part of German-American exchange programs directed by Hartmut Gimmler of the Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut.
Awards and Honors
1st Place, Best Feature, Willamette Week "Fall Arts Guide," Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Chapter (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Alaska)
1st Place, Best Lifestyle Feature, Willamette Week cover story, Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Chapter (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Alaska)
"Best Writer Keeping Portland in the National Eye," TJ Norris, unBLOGGED, 2007 Northwest Best
"Best Speak-Your-Mind Arts Writer of 2006," TJ Norris, TJNorris.net, "Best of 2006"
"Best Fashionably Scandalous Writer of 2005," TJ Norris, OregonLive.com, "Best of 2005"
1st Place, Best Spot News Report, Associated Press, for "Nursing Home Fire" for KFSM-TV
1st Place, Best Feature Report, Associated Press, for "Beat the Heat" for KFSM-TV
1st Place, Best Feature Report, Associated Press, for "Flavors of Life" for KFSM-TV
2nd Place, Best Feature Report, Associated Press, for "Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow" for KFSM-TV
2nd Place, Best Feature Report, Associated Press, for "Ozark Gothic" for KFSM-TV
1st place, Best Spot News Report, Associated Press, for "Sister Spirit Protest" for WHLT-TV
Inductee, American Academy of Achievement, recipient, Golden Plate Award
1st Place National Winner, National Association of Broadcasters, Broadcast Education Association $1,500 Award
1st Place National Winner, Veterans of Foreign Wars "Voice of Democracy" $16,000 Broadcast Scriptwriting Competition
Lecturing, Arts Jurying, and Community Activism
- Lecturer and Critique Leader, Oregon College of Art and Craft
- Lecturer, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Intermediate Painting: "Art as Dialectic Alchemy"
- Lecturer, Bullseye Glass Company (Portland, OR, and Santa Fe, NM): "How to Write an Effective Artist Statement"
- Panelist, Oregon Public Broadcasting, Think Out Loud: "Contemporary Northwest Art Awards"
- Lecturer, Portland State University, English Department: "Writing about Events: The Arts"
- Lecturer, Portland Community College, Art Department: "Artist Skills and Professional Practices"
- Lecturer, Newspace Center for Photography: "Deconstructing Criticism"
- Lecturer, Marty Rudolph Seminars: "How to Write an Effective Artist Statement"
- Lecturer, Portland City Club, Arts and Culture Committee, Portland, Oregon
- Moderator, panel discussion on digitally produced art, Beaverton Arts Commission, Beaverton, Oregon
- Advisory Board Member, Matt Lamb Umbrellas for Peace Foundation, Chicago, Illinois
- Faculty Member emeritus, The Objectivist Center, Washington, D.C.
- Nominator, Portland Art Museum Contemporary Northwest Art Awards
- Juror, Visual Codec "One Shot" competition and book
- Juror, "Best of Show" category, Beaverton Arts Commission Annual Visual Arts Showcase
- Juror, e-merge, a biennial exhibition sponsored by Bullseye Gallery
- Seven-time host, local segments (WHLT-TV and KFSM-TV), Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon
- Board Member emeritus, Fort Smith Symphony Steering Committee
- Board Member, LHH Condominium Association
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