Spencer Tinkham
(b. 1992) Norfolk, Virginia, USA
Solo Exhibitions
2025 Feather & Form, Academy Art Museum; Easton, MD
2024 Spencer Tinkham, Antler Gallery & Hi-Fructose Magazine; Portland, OR
Spencer Tinkham: Witness, Virginia MOCA; Virginia Beach, VA
2023 Let There Be Flight | Spencer Tinkham, Rockport Center for the Arts; Rockport, TX
Selected Group Exhibitions
2026 The Ark (curated by Eric Fischl and Eric Shiner), Powerhouse Arts; Brooklyn, NY
Re-Inhabiting Conservation: Bringing Wildlife Closer to Home, GoggleWorks Center for the Arts;
Reading, PA
Art & Artifacts, Norfolk International Airport; Norfolk, VA
2025 Yay Birds!, Andra Norris Gallery; San Francisco, CA
Birds in Art 2025, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum; Wausau, WI
(Selected for tour) Detroit Zoo, Detroit, MI
Honors Exhibition, National Sculpture Society & Brookgreen Gardens; Murrells Inlet, SC
Between Hand and Scroll, Fralin Museum of Art; Charlottesville, VA
2024 Birds in Art 2024, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum; Wausau, WI
ArtFields, Lake City Creative Alliance; Lake City, SC
2023 David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation Wildlife Artist of the Year 2023, Mall Galleries; London, UK
Birds in Art 2023, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum; Wausau, WI
Re-imagining Conservation: From Many Viewpoints, National Museum of Wildlife Art; Jackson, WY
2022 Tidewater Untamed, Mary M. Torggler Fine Arts Center; Newport News, VA
Birds in Art 2022, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum; Wausau, WI
(Selected for tour) Newington Cropsey Foundation, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY; Muscatine Art Center,
Muscatine, IA; Hansen Museum, Logan, KS
Atrium Artists in Residence, Virginia MOCA; Virginia Beach, VA
Strange Paradise: A Window into Surrealism, Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center; Solomons, MD
The Guiding Hand, Chrysler Museum of Art; Norfolk, VA
2021 2021 Miami University Young Sculptors Competition, Juror Mark Dion, Miami University Hiestand Galleries; Oxford, OH
Animals, Light Space & Time Gallery
2020 Birds in Art 2020, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum; Wausau, WI
(Selected for tour) Newington Cropsey Foundation, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY; Wendell Gilley Museum, Southwest Harbor, ME; Stamford Museum & Nature Center, Stamford, CT; Fullerton Arboretum, Fullerton, CA
Walk on the Wild Side, Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts; Suffolk, VA
2019 Birds in Art 2019, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum; Wausau, WI
(Selected for tour) Wichita Falls Museum of Art at Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, TX; Newington Cropsey Foundation, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY; Wendell Gilley Museum, Southwest Harbor, ME
Modern Makers, Virginia MOCA; Virginia Beach, VA
Residencies
2026 The Studios of Key West; Key West, FL
2025 Vermont Studio Center; Johnson, VT
Rockport Center for the Arts; Rockport, TX
2024 Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum; Wausau, WI
2022 Virginia MOCA; Virginia Beach, VA
Appearances
2025 “Anthropocene Conversations”, Apaçık Radyo- Istanbul, Turkey, January 7, 2025
2022 “Curate | Season 7 | Episode 3,” WHRO-TV15, PBS.org, November, 4, 2022
2019 “44th annual Birds in Art exhibit opens on Saturday,” WAOW-TV9, September 9, 2019
2017 “Creative Carver: Spencer Tinkham,” WHRO-TV15, PBS.org, October 24, 2017
Press
2026 “30 Must-See Art Shows in New York City This Summer,” Hyperallergic, June 15, 2026
2024 “Susannah Kelly Art Award Exhibition,” Hi-Fructose Magazine, Issue 72, Fall 2024
“Virginia MOCA exhibit showcases sculptor’s bird-inspired creations,” The Virginian-Pilot, April 28, 2024
“For the Birds,” AAA Explorer, April/May/June 2024
“Avian Art Takes Flight,” Fine Art Connoisseur, January/February 2024
2023 “Art Center hosting 2 unique exhibitions in late September,” The Rockport Pilot, September 20, 2023
“Flying Off the Walls,” Sculpture Review, Fall 2023
2022 “Imaginative Torah pointers are at center of exhibit at Chrysler Museum,” The Virginian-Pilot, April 15, 2022
2021 “Art of the Decoy,” Garden & Gun, December 2021/January 2022
“The Contractor Saw Takes Flight- Q&A With Spencer Tinkham,” SawStop.com, December 14, 2021
“Birds in Art,” Competition 2020, February 2021
2020 “Eat, Drink & Be Cozy,” Distinction, December 2020/January 2021
2019 “Awesome Avians,” City Pages, October 10, 2019
“’Birds in Art’: How international, first-time artists discovered Wausau’s premier event,” Wausau Daily Herald, September 5, 2019
“Into the Woods,” Tidewater Traveler, Spring 2019
“Full-time Artistry- Spencer Tinkham,” HocTok, February 2019
2018 “Search & Decoy,” Garden & Gun, February/March 2018
2017 Woodcarving Illustrated, Spring 2017
“Where Duck Decoys Became High Art,” SmithsonianMag.org, April 24, 2017
“Carver Brings Wood to Life,” Distinction, Spring 2017
2016 “Made in Virginia 2016 Awards,” Virginia Living, December 2016
Awards
2024 Elected Member, National Sculpture Society; New York, NY
Susannah Kelly Art Award: Sculpture, Antler Gallery & Hi-Fructose Magazine; Portland, OR
Marilyn Newmark Memorial Grant, National Sculpture Society; New York, NY
2019 National Sculpture Society SEWE Scholarship; New York, NY
2017 Award of Distinction: 3D, An Occasion for the Arts; Williamsburg, VA
2016 Best Made in Virginia- Virginia Living Magazine
Collections
Dollar Tree, Inc.; Chesapeake, VA
Elizabeth River Project; Norfolk, VA
The Fralin Museum of Art; Charlottesville, VA
Florence Griswold Museum; Old Lyme, CT
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum; Wausau, WI
Top Trumps USA, Inc.; Providence, RI
U.S. Energy Development Corporation; Fort Worth, TX
2025 Feather & Form, Academy Art Museum; Easton, MD
2024 Spencer Tinkham, Antler Gallery & Hi-Fructose Magazine; Portland, OR
Spencer Tinkham: Witness, Virginia MOCA; Virginia Beach, VA
2023 Let There Be Flight | Spencer Tinkham, Rockport Center for the Arts; Rockport, TX
Selected Group Exhibitions
2026 The Ark (curated by Eric Fischl and Eric Shiner), Powerhouse Arts; Brooklyn, NY
Re-Inhabiting Conservation: Bringing Wildlife Closer to Home, GoggleWorks Center for the Arts;
Reading, PA
Art & Artifacts, Norfolk International Airport; Norfolk, VA
2025 Yay Birds!, Andra Norris Gallery; San Francisco, CA
Birds in Art 2025, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum; Wausau, WI
(Selected for tour) Detroit Zoo, Detroit, MI
Honors Exhibition, National Sculpture Society & Brookgreen Gardens; Murrells Inlet, SC
Between Hand and Scroll, Fralin Museum of Art; Charlottesville, VA
2024 Birds in Art 2024, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum; Wausau, WI
ArtFields, Lake City Creative Alliance; Lake City, SC
2023 David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation Wildlife Artist of the Year 2023, Mall Galleries; London, UK
Birds in Art 2023, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum; Wausau, WI
Re-imagining Conservation: From Many Viewpoints, National Museum of Wildlife Art; Jackson, WY
2022 Tidewater Untamed, Mary M. Torggler Fine Arts Center; Newport News, VA
Birds in Art 2022, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum; Wausau, WI
(Selected for tour) Newington Cropsey Foundation, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY; Muscatine Art Center,
Muscatine, IA; Hansen Museum, Logan, KS
Atrium Artists in Residence, Virginia MOCA; Virginia Beach, VA
Strange Paradise: A Window into Surrealism, Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center; Solomons, MD
The Guiding Hand, Chrysler Museum of Art; Norfolk, VA
2021 2021 Miami University Young Sculptors Competition, Juror Mark Dion, Miami University Hiestand Galleries; Oxford, OH
Animals, Light Space & Time Gallery
2020 Birds in Art 2020, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum; Wausau, WI
(Selected for tour) Newington Cropsey Foundation, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY; Wendell Gilley Museum, Southwest Harbor, ME; Stamford Museum & Nature Center, Stamford, CT; Fullerton Arboretum, Fullerton, CA
Walk on the Wild Side, Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts; Suffolk, VA
2019 Birds in Art 2019, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum; Wausau, WI
(Selected for tour) Wichita Falls Museum of Art at Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, TX; Newington Cropsey Foundation, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY; Wendell Gilley Museum, Southwest Harbor, ME
Modern Makers, Virginia MOCA; Virginia Beach, VA
Residencies
2026 The Studios of Key West; Key West, FL
2025 Vermont Studio Center; Johnson, VT
Rockport Center for the Arts; Rockport, TX
2024 Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum; Wausau, WI
2022 Virginia MOCA; Virginia Beach, VA
Appearances
2025 “Anthropocene Conversations”, Apaçık Radyo- Istanbul, Turkey, January 7, 2025
2022 “Curate | Season 7 | Episode 3,” WHRO-TV15, PBS.org, November, 4, 2022
2019 “44th annual Birds in Art exhibit opens on Saturday,” WAOW-TV9, September 9, 2019
2017 “Creative Carver: Spencer Tinkham,” WHRO-TV15, PBS.org, October 24, 2017
Press
2026 “30 Must-See Art Shows in New York City This Summer,” Hyperallergic, June 15, 2026
2024 “Susannah Kelly Art Award Exhibition,” Hi-Fructose Magazine, Issue 72, Fall 2024
“Virginia MOCA exhibit showcases sculptor’s bird-inspired creations,” The Virginian-Pilot, April 28, 2024
“For the Birds,” AAA Explorer, April/May/June 2024
“Avian Art Takes Flight,” Fine Art Connoisseur, January/February 2024
2023 “Art Center hosting 2 unique exhibitions in late September,” The Rockport Pilot, September 20, 2023
“Flying Off the Walls,” Sculpture Review, Fall 2023
2022 “Imaginative Torah pointers are at center of exhibit at Chrysler Museum,” The Virginian-Pilot, April 15, 2022
2021 “Art of the Decoy,” Garden & Gun, December 2021/January 2022
“The Contractor Saw Takes Flight- Q&A With Spencer Tinkham,” SawStop.com, December 14, 2021
“Birds in Art,” Competition 2020, February 2021
2020 “Eat, Drink & Be Cozy,” Distinction, December 2020/January 2021
2019 “Awesome Avians,” City Pages, October 10, 2019
“’Birds in Art’: How international, first-time artists discovered Wausau’s premier event,” Wausau Daily Herald, September 5, 2019
“Into the Woods,” Tidewater Traveler, Spring 2019
“Full-time Artistry- Spencer Tinkham,” HocTok, February 2019
2018 “Search & Decoy,” Garden & Gun, February/March 2018
2017 Woodcarving Illustrated, Spring 2017
“Where Duck Decoys Became High Art,” SmithsonianMag.org, April 24, 2017
“Carver Brings Wood to Life,” Distinction, Spring 2017
2016 “Made in Virginia 2016 Awards,” Virginia Living, December 2016
Awards
2024 Elected Member, National Sculpture Society; New York, NY
Susannah Kelly Art Award: Sculpture, Antler Gallery & Hi-Fructose Magazine; Portland, OR
Marilyn Newmark Memorial Grant, National Sculpture Society; New York, NY
2019 National Sculpture Society SEWE Scholarship; New York, NY
2017 Award of Distinction: 3D, An Occasion for the Arts; Williamsburg, VA
2016 Best Made in Virginia- Virginia Living Magazine
Collections
Dollar Tree, Inc.; Chesapeake, VA
Elizabeth River Project; Norfolk, VA
The Fralin Museum of Art; Charlottesville, VA
Florence Griswold Museum; Old Lyme, CT
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum; Wausau, WI
Top Trumps USA, Inc.; Providence, RI
U.S. Energy Development Corporation; Fort Worth, TX