Renee Stout

Renée Stout grew up in Pittsburgh and received her BFA from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1980. Immediately after moving to DC in 1985, she began to explore the spiritual and cultural roots of her African American heritage through her increasingly sculptural works, which found their early inspiration in the aesthetics and philosophy of Kongo ritual objects. This body of work would lead to her becoming the first American artist to have a solo exhibition in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art. Inspired by the African Diaspora, historical and current world events, the effects of technology on human interactions, as well as everyday life in her DC neighborhood. Stout now creates in a variety of media, including painting, drawing, mixed media sculpture, photography, and installation. She has been the recipient of awards from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, the Joan Mitchell Foundation, the Bader Fund, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, the Gottleib Foundation, and Anonymous Was A Woman. She was also the recipient of the Driskell Prize, awarded by the High Museum of Art and the Sondheim Award from the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts. Most recently, she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women’s Caucus for Art. Stout’s work can be found in many museums and private collections, nationally and internationally, including the Smithsonian’s new
National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Bio courtesy of the artist.