Shelby Shadwell

Shelby Shadwell’s work consists of large-scale charcoal and pastel drawings of non-traditional imagery such as gut piles left over from big game hunts and space blankets used in emergency situations to stay warm. The drawings may illicit feelings of disgust or revulsion and awe or ecstasy simultaneously due to the contrast between the vulgarity or ephemerality of the imagery juxtaposed with its meticulous, hyper-realistic, rendering. Shelby’s work allows viewers space to ask questions about low and high status in artistic subject matter and romantic tropes in contemporary western art.

Shelby is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Wyoming. From Springfield, MO, Shelby received his BFA in 2003 from Washington University in St. Louis and his MFA in 2006 from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. His work has been exhibited throughout the nation at venues including the Portland Art Museum, OR, William Havu Gallery in Denver, CO, and Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati, OH.