Biography
Spencer Herd is a multidisciplinary artist using a pointillist and French Impressionist approach to explore the relationship between naturalistic landscapes and the urban world.
With a professional career in theatrical lighting design, Herd explores the relationship between visual art elements and principles and the properties of colour and light through collaborative process.
Recent exhibitions include A Thousand Words group exhibition 2026, presented by Brunswick Street Gallery, SMALL! 2025, presented by fortyfivedownstairs, Fifty Squared Art Prize 2025 presented by Brunswick Street Art Gallery.
Herd is the 2026 recipient of the Kristian Fredrikson for Design in the Performing Arts. Recent credits as lighting designer include: Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl, Amplified: The Exquisite Rock and Rage of Chrissy Amphlett by Sheridan Harbridge and Sarah Goodes, the 2025 Green Room Award nominated in Best Lighting Design for The Last Train to Madeline by Callum Mackay, SUGAR by Ro Bright.
Project Statement
Like the great classical painters of centuries ago, Herd’s paintings are deeply rooted in memory and capturing visual resonance. “Feels Like Very Clean Air in Scotland” exists in a time when life wasn’t guaranteed and you don’t know how much more time you will have with a person, but sharing a simple image with a loved one can connect people across lands and seas.
Through layers and layers of thousands of dots and markings, gradient, texture and colour are formed to create swirling and blending imageries. Herd hopes through his work to invoke a sense of curiosity and reflection within the viewer. To see the image as a whole from afar, and then spend time exploring the canvas in all the shapes and colours and light it has to offer up close.
