Clarence Shivers: Experimenting with Form

Over the course of his career, Clarence Shivers (1923-2007) demonstrated a commitment to artistic experimentation, working across different media—both two- and three-dimensional—and cultivating a range of stylistic approaches.

A Tuskegee Airman—and career military person—one of Shivers’ most celebrated works is his statue dedicated to these pilots and their legacies, located at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

Joining this highly selective as well as segregated group of aviators shaped the artist’s commitment to celebrating Black experience and creativity in his work.

Shivers often returned to forms of portraiture. Whether images of friends, families, musicians, civil rights leader, or others, Shivers represented his subjects with poignant and expressive insight.

Not bound by convention, Clarence Shivers also created abstract works that demonstrate his ongoing exploration into geometric form, color, and movement.

Clarence Shivers: Experimenting with Form presents over 30 works, paintings, prints, and sculpture, that offer an expansive view of the artist’s prolific career.

Clarence Shivers: Experimenting with Form is curated by Michael Christiano, Director of Visual Arts & Museum. The exhibition is generously supported by The Anschutz Foundation.