Panafrica Symposium
KANAL–Centre Pompidou, Brussels
The sculpture Air (2022) was selected by KANAL–Centre Pompidou as the signature visual identity for the international symposium, Panafrica: Image, Sound, Text, in Brussels. Commissioned as part of the global tour of Project a Black Planet, the work was featured in large-scale public kiosk installations throughout the city. This international feature, co-organized with the Art Institute of Chicago and MACBA Barcelona, serves as a critical iconographic anchor for the exploration of the African diaspora.
The Fifth Vessel
Transformer Station, Cleveland Museum of Art | The FRONT International: Art Futures Fellowship Exhibition
A monumental inquiry into the physical form as a reliquary for discernment. As the sole artist featured in the Transformer Station's Crane Gallery, Spencer utilized raw geological matter to create a symbolic architecture for human accountability.
Charmaine Spencer is a Cleveland-based sculptor with a practice defined by international reach and deep material transformation. Her work is currently featured in the global touring exhibition "Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica," commissioned by the Art Institute of Chicago. This landmark exhibition, which includes Spencer’s work "Air" (2024), is currently on view at MACBA Barcelona (through April 2026) and will travel to the Barbican Centre in London and KANAL-Centre Pompidou in Brussels through 2027.
Simultaneously, Spencer is a featured artist in the "Ohio Now: State of Nature"exhibition at moCa Cleveland (January 30 – May 31, 2026), where she explores environmental justice and the inherent value of overlooked materials.
A 2005 graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) and a 2022 FRONT Art Futures Fellowship awardee, Spencer has established herself as one of the region’s foremost sculptors. Her honors include the William McVey Award for Excellence in Sculpture, multiple Ohio Arts Council Grants (2020, 2022), and a 2009 Creative Workforce Fellowship.
Her work is held in prestigious permanent collections, including the Putnam Collection at Case Western Reserve University and the Hilton Collection Downtown Cleveland, as well as the DuSable Black History Museum in Chicago, which will become the permanent home for her AIC-commissioned work. Spencer's practice consistently challenges societal definitions of value, transforming organic and secondhand materials—from clay and compost to newspaper and hemp—into profound statements of resilience.
Harmonic
Permanent Site-Specific Installation | Hilton Downtown
Hand-woven reed grass | 18 x 18 ft.
A landmark commission for the Hilton Collection, integrating organic materiality into the architectural fabric of the city.
Portals To Everywhere
Permanent Public Installation University Circle
Stainless Steel | 12 x 7 x 7 ft.
Commissioned to posthumously execute the final work of sculptor David E. Davis.
