Claire Frances Spaulding

www.clairefrancesstudio.com

@clairefrances_studio

Claire Frances Spaulding (b. 1995) is a Portland-based creative that is joyfully distracted by kitsch, aesthetic theory, and ecology. Her studio practice focuses on soft sculptural, multimedia artworks. A firm believer in thinking beyond our paved paradise, she utilizes embellishment and ornamentation to consider kitsch within a contemporary context – specifically environmental impact and materialism. Using quips, found objects, and hand-stitching, her work offers a camp-ified lens to question what it means to occupy space HERE and NOW as both consumer and creative. A self-identifying “Kitsch Bitch”, Spaulding embraces an empathy for plastic and the permanence of polymers towards a tchotchke futurity that will outlast us all. 

In May 2025, she will receive an MFA and MA from the Pacific Northwest College of Art. She completed her BFA and BAVCS from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2018. Her first solo exhibition, Quip n’ Craft: Bless this Kitsch, was held in October 2023 here in Portland, OR. She participated in group exhibitions in Portland, OR; Roseville, CA; Chicago, IL; and Rome, Italy. She attended residencies in the US and Europe, notably the Vermont Studio Center in July 2023. Throughout 2024, she presented research on ecodread and glitter in Albuquerque, NM; Portland, OR; and New York City, NY. In February, her work will be featured in Fresh Voices, a group exhibition at the University Club of Portland.