Rachel Rose Spenger (m. Morrissey) is a Jewish American, born in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1986. Rachel received her MFA in May 2016 from Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She earned a Post-Baccalaureate degree from The School of the Museum of Fine Arts in 2014 and a BFA in Studio Art from Indiana University in 2009. She has been featured in Create Magazine, Art Seen Magazine, Women’s United Magazine and Friend of the Artist. Her work has been exhibited with Voltz Clarke Gallery in New York City, The Colony Hotel in Palm Beach and 19 Karen Gallery in Queensland, Australia. She is a mother of two young children. Rachel currently lives and works in her home studio in Atlanta, GA, United States.
Drawing upon themes of motherhood, mental health, and her more recent journey with Lupus, Rachel masterfully employs organic forms to artfully convey her daily experiences. While her diagnoses have significantly altered her life’s trajectory, they were not entirely unexpected, given her familiarity with invisible struggles. Lupus, despite its intensity and destructiveness, often eludes the casual observer, much like the subtle tensions that underlie her seemingly vibrant plants and flowers.
Rachel’s fascination with plant forms stems from their remarkable ability to narrate stories and evoke emotions through seemingly simple gestures. She paints scenes saturated with color, initially captivating viewers with their allure, only for the complexities of the vegetation to reveal themselves upon closer inspection. Amidst the exuberance and apparent joy, one discovers suffocating vines and signs of decay, hinting at unwelcome mutations.
Continuously evolving, her work serves as a fruitful chronicle, capturing and interpreting the myriad challenges of life with Lupus and motherhood through her unique artistic lens.
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Education:
2016 - MFA, Massachusetts College of Art & Design, Boston, MA
2014 - Post Baccalaureate, School of the Museum of Fine Arts​, Boston, MA
2009 - BFA Studio Art, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Solo & Two Person Exhibitions:
2024 - BLOOM, Solo Show, Voltz Clarke Gallery X The Colony Hotel, Palm Beach, Spring 2024
2023 - New Beginnings, Rachel Morrissey & Daniel Adenitan, Voltz Clarke Gallery, 1/26-3/18/2023
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Select Group Exhibitions:
2024 - Brigette Mayer Gallery, Benefit Exhibition, Summer 2024
2024 - Norton Museum of Art x Sotheby's Art Auction, Palm Beach, February 2024
2023 - Art Against Terrorism, Benefit Auction, October 2023
2023 - Group Exhibition, 19 Karen Gallery, Queensland, Australia, September 2023
2023 - Raw Emotion II, Group Exhibition, Gallery Tempo, Jamaica Plain, MA, Summer
2022 - Boston International Fine Art Show, Boston, October 20-23, 2022
2022- Superfine Art Fair, New York City, September 15-18, 2022
2022- I Like Your Work Podcast, Piano Craft Gallery, Boston, September 2-25, 2022
2022- Raw Emotions, Group Exhibition, Gallery Tempo + Jameson & Thompson 5/6-6/30
2022- SOURCE, Group Exhibition, MassArt x SOWA Gallery 3/12-4/16/2022
2022- Solo Show, "Mother Flower", Cambridge Common, 12/20-1/30/2022, MA
2021 - The Artistellar FOA Talent, Virtual, October - November 2021
2021 - Forbidden Fruit, I Like Your Work Podcast, Piano Craft Gallery, September 2021
2021 - Women in Abstraction, New Art Center Corridor at the Trio, July 2021, Newton, MA
2021 - Bosscritt Daily January, Virtual Exhibition, Winter/Spring 2021
2021 - Las Laguna Art Gallery, Small Works Big Talent 1/8-1/30/2021
2020 - Every Day In August, Virtual Exhibition, Bosscritt Curitorial Club, Fall 2020
2020 - Congruence, I Like Your Work Podcast, Juried By Bridget Mayer Gallery, Summer 2020
2020 - Superfine E-fair, Summer 2020, New York, NY
2019 - 29th Annual MassArt Auction, Bakalar & Paine Galleries, Boston, MA
2016 - MFA Thesis Exhibition, Bakalar & Paine Galleries, Boston, MA
2016 - Summer GIF Show, Pink Box Collective, Online
2016 - 27th Annual MassArt Auction, Bakalar & Paine Galleries, Boston, MA
2016 - Ways to Use Walls, Student Life Gallery, Boston, MA
2016 - Creative Counterpoints: Women Difference & the Arts, Arnheim Gallery, MA
2016 - That Thing You Said, Arnheim Gallery, Boston, MA
2015 - Hurry Up & Wait 2, Aviary Gallery, Boston, MA
2015 - Hurry Up and Wait, group show, Arnheim Gallery, Boston, MA
2015 - “Bouncing in the Corner”, group show, subSamson, Boston, MA
2014 - emb2dy, Student Life Gallery, Boston, MA
Press:
2024 - New Visionary Magazine, Issue #11, Summer
2024 - Studio Visit Magazine, Volume 52
2023 - Create Magazine, Issue 37, Summer
2023 - Art Seen Magazine, Summer
2023 - Women United Art Magazine, Issue III, Spring
2023 - Canvas Rebel, Spring
2022 - February, Friend of the Artist, Volume 14
2022 - I Like Your Work Podcast, Online Interview, Spring
2021 - Deanna Evans Projects, Curated Studio Visits
2020 - Candyfloss Magazine, Enchanted Issue, Fall
2020 - Visionary Art Collective, Artist Feature & Interview, September
Awards:
2014 - The Doran Scholarship, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
2013 - Post Baccalaureate Grant, School of the Museum of Fine Arts
Residencies:
2024/2025 - New York Crit Club Canopy 2.0 Residency Program
2023/2024 - New York Crit Club Canopy Residency Program
2021 - March, Dear Artists Residency