About The Artist

Sam Parker "Sparker” is an American abstract artist born in 1989 in the NW Suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. Sparker earned her MFA from The University of Texas at Austin in 2014 and her BFA from Bradley University in 2011. Her most known works are large-scale linear abstract installations and sculptures made from an array of materials donated by the public. Sparker’s background is in printmaking, drawing, and painting. She has been included in public and private collections at venues such as the Courtyard Marriott Hotel, Woodbourne-Centerville Public Library, Seismique Museum, and Texas Tech University. Select exhibitions include the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, Memorial-Sloan Kettering Hospital, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Till Richter Museum, Hunterdon Art Museum, Arthaus Projects, Art + Lit Lab Madison, and various academic institutions including Xavier University, Binghamton University, The Ohio State University, California Lutheran University, University of Southern Mississippi, and others. Her outdoor sculptures have been shown in sculpture gardens and as public street art.

Recent awards include a 2020 Andra Tutto Bene grant sponsored by NinedotArts, an honorable mention for her work in the show RePurposed, 2019, at ArtHaus Projects, a 2019 Ringholz Foundation Award, 2017 ArtPrize Nine Seed Grant, 2017 Greater Columbus Arts Council AITC Grant, 2017 Columbus Arts Festival Emerging Artist Grant, a 2016 Art Kudos Merit Award, and a 2014-15 John Fergus Post-MFA Fellowship at the Ohio State University.

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