BIO

Travis Head’s work has been exhibited throughout the United States. He has been awarded residencies at MacDowell, Yaddo, Ox-Bow, Vermont Studio Center, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and he is a 2015 recipient of a Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Professional Fellowship. He holds an MFA from the University of Iowa and a BA from the University of Mary Washington and is Associate Professor of Drawing at Virginia Tech’s School of Visual Art.

Contact: travis.head.art@gmail.com

Artist Statement

My work explores personal narrative through drawing and writing. Growing up in a family that celebrates collection and commemoration, it has always made sense to me to use my life as subject matter. My Reading Lists record the day-to-day through simple accretion, layering image and text within a single picture plane. Their function is primarily documentary in nature; accumulations of information that tend to sidestep emotional associations. I take a more reflective position in my journals and comics, distilling memory into subjective personal mythology through sequential narrative. The Merit Badge Project represents an attempt to use art to guide experience rather than reflect upon it through the completion of (often silly) self-assigned tasks and challenges. Collectively, these avenues in my work combine drawing and story-telling to both keep and give a self-accounting; one that I hope is not only singularly personal, but also emblematic of our shared contemporary experience.  

CV

Education

2008          M.F.A., Painting and Drawing, minor in Printmaking: University of Iowa, Iowa City

2007          M.A., Painting and Drawing, minor in Printmaking: University of Iowa, Iowa City

2002          B.A., Summa Cum Laude, Studio Art: University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA

Professional Appointments

2017 - present       Associate Professor of Drawing, School of Visual Arts, Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, VA

2011 - 2017        Assistant Professor of Drawing, School of Visual Arts, Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, VA

2011                       Adjunct Faculty, State University of New York at New Paltz

2009 - 2011           Artist Assistant to Thomas Nozkowski, Joyce Robins, Harry Roseman, Catherine Murphy, High Falls & Poughkeepsie, NY

Fellowships

2015          Professional Artist Fellowship // Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA.  Juror: Jen Mergel, Senior Curator of Contemporary Art, Boston Museum of Fine Arts

2009         Viewing Program Curated Artists Registry // The Drawing Center, NYC

Artist Residencies

2017          Residency // MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH

2014          Residency // Ox-Bow, Saugatuck, MI

2014          Residency // Lukkeskåra/Rådlausjuvet, Suldal, Norway [as The Four-footed Fellows Correspondence Club]

2013          Residency // Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, NY

2012          Residency and Artist’s Grant // Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT

2012          Residency // Kunstnarhuset Messen, Ålvik, Norway [as The Four-footed Fellows Correspondence Club]

2009         Residency // Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amhearst, VA                 

Selected Solo & SMALL-GROUP Exhibitions

2023

• BOTTLECAPS & BREADCRUMBS // Hunt Gallery, Mary Baldwin University, Staunton VA

2019

• Origin // duPont Gallery, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA

2018

• Journals & Reading Lists // Moon Gallery, Berry College, Mt. Berry, GA

2017

• So-Called // Bolivar Art Gallery, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY [as the Four-Footed Fellows Correspondence Club] 

• Location Known: Gail Biederman, Chad Erpelding, & Travis Head (forthcoming) // Artspace, Raleigh, NC

2016

• An Earlier Save // Salmon Library Gallery, University of Alabama, Huntsville, AL

2015    

• Holdfast // Dayton Visual Art Center (DVAC), Dayton, OH [as the Four-Footed Fellows Correspondence Club]

2014        

• Reading Room // Staniar Gallery, Washington & Lee University, Lexington, VA

• An Interior Life // Luther College, Decorah, IA

• Render // Olin Hall Galleries, Roanoke College, Salem, VA [as the Four-Footed Fellows Correspondence Club]

• Stitch, Cut, Sigh: Jennifer Hand, Travis Head, & Eric Standley // Beverly Street Studio School Gallery, Staunton, VA  

2013         

• UNshelved: Nick DeFord, Daniel Essig, Travis Head, & Robyn Raines // William King Museum, Abingdon, VA. Curated by Leila Cartier

• Together & Elevated // Trykk 17, Grafisk Verksted, Stavanger, Norway [as the Four-Footed Fellows Correspondence Club]

2012        

• SOLOS 2012 // Arlington Arts Center, Arlington, VA

• Foreign Lumber // Prosjektrom Normanns Project Space, Stavanger, Norway [as the Four-Footed Fellows Correspondence Club]

2011        

• Terrain: Travis Head, April Warren, & Neal Hollinger // KMOCA, Kingston, NY

• Under the Bunker: Travis Head & Deb Sokolow // Times Club at Prairie Lights, Iowa City, IA

2010        

• Soft Eyes // Thompson Gallery, Furman University, Greenville, SC

• Holed Up // Unison Arts WSM Gallery, New Paltz, NY

2009        

• Artist’s Books and Drawings // Vassar College Art Library, Poughkeepsie, NY

• Manufactured Space // Project Art, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics

Selected juried & invitational Group Exhibitions

2024

• 50x50 // Arts & Culture Alliance, Emporium Art Center, Knoxville, TN. Curator: John Douglas Powers

• SECAC Member’s Juried Exhibition // Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design Galleries, Georgia State University, Atlanta

• 37th September // Alexandria Museum of Art, Alexandria, LA

• Baker University National // Holt-Russell Gallery, Baker University, Baldwin City, KS

• Drawing from Perception, Invention, and Memory // Robert and Elaine Stein Galleries, Wright State University, Dayton, OH

2023

• Biennial Juried Exhibition // Olin Gallery, Roanoke College, Roanoke, VA

2022

• 7th Annual CAL Exhibition // Conroe Art League, Conroe, TX

• 56th Annual National Drawing and Small Sculpture Show // Del Mar College, Corpus Christi, TX

2021

• Throughlines // Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis, IN

• Summer Reading // Center for Book Arts, NYC

2020

• Drawn: Concept & Craft // Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston Salem, NC

• Form Line Shape Space // Todd Art Gallery, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN

2018

• Summer Reading // Woskob Family Gallery, Penn State University, State College, PA. Curators: Lindsey Landfried and Ann Tarantino

2017

• Homeward Bound // Taubman Museum, Roanoke, VA. Juror: Bradley Sumrall 

• Imagination (Un)Bound // Berry College, Mt. Berry, GA. Curator: Brad Adams

2016

• 31st Annual Tallahassee International // Museum of Fine Arts, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL. Jurors: Carolyn Henne & Allys Palladino-Craig

• Words + Text + Numbers // St. Louis Artists’ Guild, St. Louis, MO. Juror: Joel Ross

• Texas National 2016 // Stephen F. Austin University, Nacogdoches, TX. Juror: Abelardo Morell

• Biennial 2016 // Peninsula Fine Arts Center, Newport News, VA. Juror: Valerie Fletcher

• A Curious Reality // Union Street Gallery, Chicago Heights, IL. Jurors: Aaron Miller & Mike Rea

• 5th Annual National Juried Exhibition // VAC Gallery, Marshall University School of Art & Design, Huntington, WV. Juror: Geoffrey Fleming

• A Place in Space // Elizabeth Holden Gallery, Warren Wilson College, Asheville, NC. Organized by Erin Castellan

2015

• Soft Eyes // Whitespace Gallery, Atlanta, GA. Organized by Pete Schulte

• Instructors Exhibition // Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN

• SECAC Annual Juried Exhibition // Future Tenant Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA. Juror: Jessica Beck

• Works on Paper 2015 // Long Beach Island Foundation, Loveladies, NJ. Juror: Carter E. Foster

• Interstate // Sarah Spurgeon Gallery, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA.  Juror: Michael Rooks

2014        

• Art on Paper 2014: The 43rd Exhibition // Weatherspoon Art Museum, University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Curated by Xandra Eden

• Ann Metzger Memorial National All Media Exhibition // St. Louis Artists’ Guild, Clayton, MO. Juror: Rusty Freeman

• Everything Paper // University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) Art Gallery, Omaha, NE. Juror: Karin Campbell

• 27th Annual Mcneese Works on Paper Exhibition // Abercrombie Gallery, Mcneese State University, Lake Charles, LA. Juror: Louis Grachos

• 29th Annual Positive-Negative National Juried Exhibition // Slocumb Galleries, Eastern Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN. Juror: Buzz Spector

• Memento // Castle Gallery, The College of New Rochelle, NY. Organized by Katrina Rhein

• Home Sweet Home // Eleanor D. Wilson Museum, Hollins University, Roanoke, VA. Curated by Amy Moorefield

2013        

• Fresh // AVA Gallery, Chattanooga, TN

• 24th National Drawing and Print Competitive Exhibition // Gormley Gallery, Notre Dame of Maryland University, Baltimore, MD. Juror: Amy Cavanaugh Royce

• Biennial Juried Exhibition // Olin Hall Galleries, Roanoke College, Salem, VA. Juror: Margot Norton

• Faculty Exhibition // Tasmeem 2013 Conference, VCUQatar, Doha. [as the Four-footed Fellows Correspondence Club]

• 34th Bradley International Print & Drawing Exhibition //  Heuser Art Center, Peoria, IL. Juror: Stephen Goddard

• Americas 2013: Paperworks // Northwest Art Center, Minot State U., Minot, ND. Juror: Nicole Pietrantoni

• Stone Canoe Exhibition // Community Folk Art Center, Syracuse, NY. Juror: Amy Cheng

• Terra Incognita // Castle Gallery, The College of New Rochelle, NY. Organized by Katrina Rhein

2012        

• SECAC Annual juried Exhibition // Durham Arts Council, Durham, NC. Juror: Charles Joyner

• On the Threshold // Attleboro Arts Museum, Attleboro, MA. Juror: Michele L’Heureux

• Home // Front Street Gallery, Patterson, NY. Juror: Terry Ariano        

• Additional Experiments // Drewlowe Gallery, University of Iowa, Iowa City. Print Exchange & Exhibition organized by Josh Doster

• Works on Paper // Unison Arts Center, New Paltz, NY. Curated by April Warren

• A Shadow Side // Peru State College, Peru, NB. Curated by Josh Anderson

• Bred and Fed // Shoot the Lobster at BS Gallery, Iowa City, IA. Organized by Mary Grace Wright

2011         

• From these Hills // William King Museum, Abingdon, VA. Juror: Amy Moorefield

• 11th Annual American Landscapes // Maryland Federation of Art, Annapolis, MD. Juror: Jack Rasmussen

• 24th Annual Northern National Art Competition // Nicolet College, Rhinelander, WI. Juror: Dennis Wojtkiewicz

• Drawing Discourse // University of North Carolina, Asheville. Juror: Alex Kanevsky

• Small // Luise Ross Gallery, NYC

2010          

• Hudson Valley Artists 2010 // Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, New Paltz, NY. Curator: Thomas Collins [as the Four-Footed Fellows Correspondence Club]

• Marks that Matter // Muroff Kotler Gallery, SUNY Ulster, Stone Ridge, NY. Juror: Gillian Jagger

• Oblique Patience // (SCENE)Metrospace, East Lansing, MI. Curated by Britta Urness

• Mark, Paper, Scissors // Roos Arts, Rosendale NY. Curated by Heige Kim

2008        

• Mid-Atlantic New Painting 2008 // Ridderhof Martin Gallery, Fredericksburg, VA. Juror: John Ravenal

• Paths of Desire // St. Ambrose University, Davenport, IA [as the Four-Footed Fellows Correspondence Club]

• MFA 2008 Exhibition // University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa City, IA

2006        

• Biennial 2006 // Peninsula Fine Arts Center, Newport News, VA. Juror: Tony Hepburn

2005        

• State of the Art // Arlington Arts Center, Arlington, VA. Curator: Carole Garmon

2004

• Holiday Invitational // 1708 Gallery, Richmond, VA

2003        

• Open Exhibition 2003 // Verizon Gallery, Fairfax, VA. Juror: Stephen B. Phillips  

EXHIBITION AWARDS

2024 Best in Show // SECAC Member’s Juried Exhibition, Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design Galleries, Georgia State University, Atlanta. Juror: Alice Stone-Collins

2024 Runner Up 2D // Baker University National, Holt-Russell Gallery, Baker University, Baldwin City, KS. Juror: Ron Michael

2022 Third Place // CAL International 2022, Conroe Art League, Conroe, TX. Juror: Megan Olivia Ebel, gallery director, curator, and appraiser at Heidi Vaughan Fine Art, Houston, TX

2016          Juror’s Choice Award // 5th Annual National Juried Exhibition, VAC Gallery, Marshall University School of Art & Design, Huntington, WV. Juror: Geoffrey Fleming, Executive                           Director of the Huntington Museum of Art

2015          Third Place // SECAC Annual Juried Exhibition, Future Tenant Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA. Juror: Jessica Beck, Assistant Curator of Art at the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA

2015          First Place // NJC: Works on Paper 2015, Long Beach Island Foundation, Loveladies, New Jersey. Juror: Carter E. Foster, Steven and Ann Ames Curator of Drawing, Whitney                         Museum of American Art, NYC

2015          Honorable Mention // Interstate, Sarah Spurgeon Gallery, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA.  Juror: Michael Rooks, Wieland Family Curator of Modern and                                 Contemporary Art, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA

2014          Cynthia Berg Prize // Ann Metzger Memorial National All Media Exhibition, St. Louis Artists’ Guild, Clayton, MO. Juror: Rusty Freeman, Director of Visual Arts, Cedarhurst Center                   for the Arts, Mount Vernon, IL

2013          First Place // 2013 Biennial Juried Exhibition, Olin Hall Galleries, Roanoke College, Salem, VA Juror: Margot Norton, Curatorial Associate, New Museum, NY

2011          Juror’s Choice Award // Drawing Discourse, UNC, Asheville. Juror: Alex Kanevsky

2011          Patron Award // 24th Annual Northern National Art Competition, Nicolet College, Rhinelander, WI

illustrations/publications

2024 BOTTLECAPS & BREADCRUMBS // self-published

2024 Forbidden Drawings Zine // Desert Island Comics

2020 Shenandoah Literary Magazine (online). Vol. 70, Number 1. // Washington & Lee University

2013          Stone Canoe Issue #7: A Journal of Arts, Literature and Social Commentary // Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY. Visual Art Editor: Amy Cheng

2013          International Drawing Annual (INDA) 7 // Exhibition in Print, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH

Selected Bibliography

2018 Moving to An-Other: Drawing in Collaboration // by Dr. Jordan Amirkhani, No. 93 / the shape of drawing now, Winter 2018

2015          Explore friendship, chronicling, intimacy in DVAC’s “Holdfast” exhibit // by Vivienne Machi, Dayton Daily News, Dayton, OH, September 3, 2015

2015          Review: ‘Soft Eyes’ group show hovers between familiar and strange at Whitespace // by Maggie Davis, ArtsATL, Atlanta, GA, September 3, 2015

2015          From the Road: Slow Heat // by Eric Asboe, Bad at Sports, August 18, 2015

2015          ‘Face the Nation’ of Artists at LBIF’s Works on Paper Show // by Pat Johnson, SECTION TWO: The Sandpaper, Loveladies, NJ, July 8, 2015

2014          Art on Paper 2014: The 43rd Exhibition (Exhibition Catalog) // by Nancy Doll & Xandra Eden, Weatherspoon Museum, UNC, Greensboro

2014          A creative collaboration: Roanoke College art shows put team effort in spotlight // by Mike Allen, Roanoke Times, Roanoke, VA, October 24, 2014

2014          ‘Home Sweet Home’: A new exhibit explores the notion of home and its myriad meanings // by Sarah Sargent, Virginia Living Magazine, February 2014

2014          ‘Home Sweet Home’: Hollins University art show explores the meaning of home // by Mike Allen, Roanoke Times, Roanoke, VA, January 3, 2014

2013          Skin and Earth, Suddenly Unrecognizable // by Tammy LaGorce, The New York Times, March 1, 2013

2012          Overlookable works shouldn’t be missed // by Michael O’Sullivan, The Washington Post, May 4, 2012

2010         His Back Pages // by Paul Smart, Ulster Publishing’s alm@nac, Ulster County, NY, January 7, 2010

2008        Featured Artist Interview // with Bill Donovan, Ink Stained Hands (blog) November 28, 2008