Spencer has a Bachelors degree in Visual Media with a minor in Cinema Studies from The American University in Washington, D.C..
Autumn, 2023 Spencer’s essay on Marcel Duchamp’s 1963 retrospective at the Norton Simon Museum was published by Pasadena Magazine. Editor: Malina Saval.
Winter 2022, Spencer exhibited with Beverly’s at Untitled Art, Art Basel | Miami Beach, curated by Leah Dixon.
Summer, 2022, Spencer’s work was seen on the front page of the New York Times Arts section review of “The Patriot,” a group show at O’Flaherty’s, curated by Jamian Juliano-Villani and Billy Grant.
Winter, 2021 Spencer exhibited at Art Basel | Miami Beach in the Gallery Sector of Satellite Art Fair, curated by Brian Andrew Whiteley.
Winter/Spring 2020 Spencer’s work “Memories of the Future, 2020” was exhibited as part of Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit’s (MOCAD) Rapid Response group show, curated by Wayne Northcross.
In 2018, Spencer directed the official music video for Joan as Police Woman’s “Warning Bell,” from her recent album, Damned Devotion, which was featured in The Atlantic. Spencer also edited and sound designed Rashid Johnson’s “Samuel in Space,” for Ballroom Marfa.
Summer, 2019 and Spring 2021, Spencer’s works Inversion #14, 2017 and Foundations, 2014 were auctioned on Paddle8.com and Capsule Auctions, respectively, to benefit the Center for Art Law in New York, curated by Louise Carron.
In 2019, an image of Spencer’s was selected for Simultaneous Soloists, a publication on the work of Anthony McCall from Pioneer Press, New York.
Winter 2022, for the 6th year in a row, Spencer’s work was available in a small edition to benefit Carriage Trade, New York, curated by Peter Scott.
Spencer’s work was recently included in Small Works at Abattoir Gallery in Cleveland, curated by Lisa Kurzner and Rose Burlingham, as well as in their group show, Landscape, Cityscape, from December, 2022 through February, 2023.
Artists Spencer has shown with include Azikiwe Mohammed, Spencer Tunick, Spencer Sweeney, Lumin Wakoa, Alexandra Hammond, Lauren Yeager, Sonia Louise Davis, Kevin Kearns, Hildur Jonsson, Dave Schubert, Bert Stern, Jack Henry, Trudy Benson, Sean Lennon, Dan Loxton, Dana Oldfather, Carlos Rosales-Silva, Fred Gutzeit, Ricky Powell, Jennifer McDermott, Carmen Winant, EJ McAdams, Tracy Emin, Dash Snow, Tom Smith, Julia Colavita, Jeff Preiss, Gianna Commito, Gwenn Thomas, Jonathan Rosen, Jeffrey Tranchell, Erykah Townsend, R.H. Quaytman, Scott Reeder and many more.
Spencer’s visionary experimental film for fashion house Honor, featuring Xiao Wen Ju, Josephine Skriver, and Anne-Sophie Monrad, was premiered by W Magazine, with a soundtrack by Here We Go Magic.
In 2013, Spencer co-concepted the foundational branding for Juice Press, with founder Marcus Antebi, starting with their first and only location, going on to create their every film and photograph, for all stores and social, billboard ads, in-store films, postcards, phone booth ads, etc. which became the voice and visual language of the brand, from 1 store locally to 80 nationally. The flagship location on Greenwich avenue, nearly the size of an entire city block, still features Spencer’s large scale photographs across the entire block of windows, 10 years later.
In January, 2016, Spencer was selected to exhibit and speak on his work at the New York Public Library's "Librarian's Choice," curated by Fred Gutzeit.
September - October of 2016, Spencer exhibited in "Sensing Place" at Chris Davison Gallery, Newburgh, New York, curated by Chris Davison and Kevin Kearns.
Spencer’s artwork has raised thousands of dollars to benefit emerging artist grants, not-for-profit galleries, and organizations providing resources to the art world as a whole.
Additional highlights:
Spencer was sponsored by Czech author and screenwriter Arnost Lustig to attend the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (Filmová a televizní fakulta Akademie múzických umění v Praze/FAMU).
During undergraduate studies, Spencer was one of 13 students from across the United States selected by presidential historian and author Dr. Douglas Brinkley for The Majic Bus, a twice-run collegiate experiential learning program. The Majic Bus traveled 44 states, during which the students studied Geography of the American Civil Rights Struggle, American Intellectual History, American Road Literature, and American Social history, where it precisely happened.
Spencer has written and directed numerous commissioned films, commercials, political documentaries and music videos, which have been featured in W Magazine, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Brooklyn Vegan, Fact Magazine, New York Times, Zoe Report, Bloomberg, and film festivals nationwide.
In 2005 Spencer was a story consultant and editor on “Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis,” the notorious documentary on Jack Smith, directed by Mary Jordan, produced by Richard Prince and Kenneth Wayne Peralta, voted one of the 10 best movies of 2006 by Entertainment Weekly Magazine.
Spencer directed, produced and wrote the feature documentary "Swing State" with Jason Zone Fisher and John Intrater which provided an inside look at the 2006 Ohio Governor’s race. The film captured the Democrats’ sweep of Ohio which set up President Barack Obama’s White House victory in 2008. The story is told across Ohio through the eyes of a family, which gave a unique look at the political life. “Swing State” set the current one-day attendance record at the Cleveland International Film Festival and premiered in 2 adjacent sold-out theaters on opening night to standing ovations.
Finally, Spencer’s artwork has been direct inspiration for couture fashion, seen in multiple seasons on the runways of New York Fashion Week, particularly as the inspiration for most of fashion house Honor’s output in 2013, though without credit. This in addition to the Emmys red carpet, at which the most talked about dress in 2013, worn by Zosia Mamet, was comprised of Spencer’s work, The New Sky, 2012 though without credit.
If you’re still reading and wondering . . . “wtf is a Majic Bus?!?” The Majic Bus (this will be back online at a future date) traveled to 44 U.S. states with the aim of learning American history where it precisely occured. Time was spent studying with, and getting to know, usually at their homes, icons such as Kurt Vonnegut, Melba Pattillo Beals, Hunter S. Thompson, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Bo Diddley, Townes Van Zandt, Toni Morrison, Arthur Miller, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Rita Dove, The Sampas/Kerouac family, Arthur Schlessinger Jr., Ramblin' Jack Elliot, William Kunstler, Alice Brock, Ed Asner, William vanden Heuvel, Hubert Selby, Jr., Robert Hunter, Steven Soderbergh, Kerry Kennedy, Allen Ginsberg, Jim Carroll, Steven Ambrose, Jimmy and Roslyn Carter, Chris Felver, T. Boone Pickens, William Kennedy, Chuck Berry, Waylon Jennings, Liz Gilbert, Hamilton Jordan, Larry Woiwode, John Kenneth Galbraith, Kinky Friedman, Tom McGuane and many others. Standout memories: restoring Bill Clinton’s boyhood home in Hope, AR, walking Lowell, MA (one on one) with Allen Ginsberg, hanging out with Hunter S. Thompson in his kitchen discussing “Hell’s Angels,” reading and having discussions with Toni Morrison, having time with Townes Van Zandt at the Maple Leaf in New Orleans, privately touring Little Rock Central High with Melba Patillo Beals. It was, obviously, bananas.
And please subscribe for (sparse) updates direct from the studio.
2023



2022
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Cool Cleveland: Landscape/Cityscape at Abattoir Gallery
- Vogue, Spirit of Peace II, Root Hotels, Karakoy, Istanbul, Turkiye


- Instyle. Spirit of Peace II, ROOT Hotels, Karakoy, Istanbul, Turkiye.


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TimeOut New York: The NYPD Shut Down This Art Opening After Thousands of Art Lovers Turned Up
- Stopwatch Instabul, Spirit of Peace II, Root Karakoy
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Sanat Istanbul, Spirit of Peace II, Root Karakoy
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New York Times: Divine Excess on Avenue C
- Artnews, “A Lower East Side Gallery Threw a Bonkers 200+ Artist Opening - and the Cops Showed Up in Minutes”
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Cultured Magazine, “New York Gallery O’Flaherty’s Packed the Street—and the Walls—for "The Patriot" Opening
- New York Times: Was this the Art Party of the Summer?
2021
- Art Miami Magazine
- Stay Happening
- Whitehot Magazine, Social Photography IX, Carriage Trade, NY
- Theguide.art, Social Photography IX, Carriage Trade, New York, NY
2020
- Cleveland.com, Steven Litt: Abattoir Gallery, Small Works, Cleveland, OH
- Artforum Must See: Carriage Trade, Social Photography VIII, New York, NY
- Artnews: Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit
- Detroitist: MOCAD Partners with the City of Detroit For Rapid Response Fundraiser
2019
- Observer: Carriage Trade, Social Photography VII, New York, NY
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Cultured Mag: Carriage Trade, Social Photography VII, New York, NY
2018
- Music video for Joan as Police Woman featured in The Guardian
- Artnet, Editor’s Picks: Carriage Trade, Social Photography VI, New York, NY
- Brooklyn Rail: Carriage Trade, Social Photography VI, New York, NY
- Joan as Police Woman, Warning Bell, in The Atlantic

2017
- Brooklyn Vegan: Joan as Police Woman, “Warning Bell” Official music video.
- DIY Mag: JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN TAKES A RIDE IN HER ‘WARNING BELL’ VIDEO
- MXDWN Mag: Joan as Police Woman Takes a Night Ride in Video for “Warning Bell” Directed by H Spencer Young
2015
“[H Spencer Young’s Natural Composites] is a combination of two photographs - one of foliage taken in his
hometown of Chagrin Valley, Ohio, with an antique Hasselblad film camera, and the other taken of the Freedom
Tower with a Nikon digital camera - that Young said symbolizes the re-birth of downtown Manhattan in the wake of 9/11.
"I think there's just something about growth and cycles and rebirth," said Young about the piece. Young, who lived
downtown on 9/11, said it's impossible for a New Yorker to not be affected by the attacks. Making the piece was
cathartic and therapeutic for him. "There was something about combining my two homes," he said.”
hometown of Chagrin Valley, Ohio, with an antique Hasselblad film camera, and the other taken of the Freedom
Tower with a Nikon digital camera - that Young said symbolizes the re-birth of downtown Manhattan in the wake of 9/11.
"I think there's just something about growth and cycles and rebirth," said Young about the piece. Young, who lived
downtown on 9/11, said it's impossible for a New Yorker to not be affected by the attacks. Making the piece was
cathartic and therapeutic for him. "There was something about combining my two homes," he said.”
2014
- The Lo Down, “My LES: H. Spencer Young”
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Complex Magazine, “Natalie White vs. Marilyn Monroe + Now You See” Opens at Manhattan’s Rox Gallery
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Untitled Magazine, “MARILYN MONROE VS. NATALIE WHITE + NOW YOU SEE @ ROX GALLERY”
2013
- Complex Magazine, Katz’s Deli Is Hosting A Mouth Watering Art Show
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First We Feast, “We Schmooze with the Artists and Organizers Behind Katz's Pop-Up Gallery, “The Space”
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Riot Material, Ascension at Rox Gallery
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West Side Spirit, Lower Art Side
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NY Artbeat, “Ascension” Exhibition, Rox Gallery
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Untitled Magazine, MARILYN MONROE VS. NATALIE WHITE + NOW YOU SEE @ ROX GALLERY
2012
- Zoe Report, “Can’t get enough of this video for Honor’s Spring 2012 collection… we kind of feel like we’re in a fantasy fashion land!”
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W Magazine (Premiere), Honor 2012 Collection/Runway film commission, (page expired)
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WGSN “Cute film from Honor documenting its spring/summer 2012 show”
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Kenton Magazine, “Honor Steps Into E-Commerce With A Visual Bang” (page expired)
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New York Girl Style, “Inspiring Fashion Film from H Spencer Young” (page expired)
2010
b. Cleveland, Ohio
Lives and works in New York City
Education
- BA Visual Media & Cinema Studies, The American University, Washington, D.C.
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Graduate in Directing and Cinematography, Filmová a televizní fakulta Akademie múzických umění v Praze (FAMU) (Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts), Prague, CZ
- Graduate, The Majic Bus, Geography of the American Civil Rights Struggle, American Intellectual History, American Road Literature, and American Social history. University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA. Traveling experiential learning program created by Dr. Douglas Brinkley.
2023
- Essay on Marcel Duchamp and the Norton Simon Museum published in Pasadena Magazine. Editor: Malina Saval
- Landscape/Cityscape, Group Show, Abattoir Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio, Curators: Lisa Kurzner, Rose Burlingham. Opening 12/9
2022
- Landscape/Cityscape, Group Show, Abattoir Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio, Curators: Lisa Kurzner, Rose Burlingham. Opening 12/9
- Group show, Art Basel Miami, Untitled Art Fair, Beverly’s, Curator: Leah Dixon
- Social Photography X, Carriage Trade, Group Show, New York, NY. Online Preview 11/23
- Interlocutor, a two-person exhibition featuring photographs, collages and a performance-installation by artists Jennifer McDermott and H Spencer Young. Curated by Clifford Owens. Art Club, New York.
- ecoartspace, Drought, 2022, 11h x 22w ft. billboard, by EJ McAdams w/H Spencer Young now live in North Adams, MA. Curator: Patricia Lea Watts.
- Selected, ecoartspace’s I AM WATER billboard project; billboards in Massachusetts (August, 2022) and New York (September, 2022) (Illustrator / Designer / collaborator for EJ McAdams’ ‘DROUGHT, 2022’, Billboard, 22h x 11w feet)
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Group Show, “The Patriot,” O’Flaherty’s, New York, NY. Curator: Jamian Juliano-Villani, Billy Grant
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Finalist, ecoartspace’s I AM WATER; Illustrator / collaborator for EJ McAdams’ DROUGHT, 2022, Digital, 22 x 11 feet
2021
- Art Basel, Gallery Sector, Satellite Art Fair, Miami, Fla., Curator: Brian Andrew Whiteley
- Social Photography IX, Carriage Trade, New York, NY, Curator: Peter Scott
- Center for Art Law Benefit Auction, Capsule Auctions, New York, NY, Curator: Louise Carron, Irina Tarsis
- Small Works, Abbatoir Gallery, Cleveland, OH, Curators: Lisa Kurzner, Rose Burlingham
- Indexularity, 2014, NFT acquired by Farzin Fardin Fard (3F) collection, March, 2021. More info: Daily Mail
2020
- Rapid Response Group Show, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Detroit, MI, Curator: Wayne Northcross
- Small Works, Abbatoir Gallery, Cleveland, OH, Curators: Lisa Kurzner, Rose Burlingham
- Social Photography VIII, Carriage Trade, New York, NY, Curator: Peter Scott
2019
- Taylor | Graham Gallery, Center for Art Law Benefit Auction, New York, NY https://itsartlaw.org/auction/ Curator: Louise Carron
- Carriage Trade, Social Photography VII, New York, NY, Curator: Peter Scott
- District Gallery, Our Favorite Things, Inaugural Show, Group Show, Cleveland, Ohio
- Spring Break Art Show, Solo Show (accepted, waitlist), Curator: Kara Brooks, New York, NY
2018
2013- Galerie Richard, Rema Hort Mann Foundation: Buy What You Love, New York, NY
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Carriage Trade, Social Photography VI, New York, NY, Curator: Peter Scott
2017
2014
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Carriage Trade, Social Photography V, New York, NY, Curator: Peter Scott
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Lyles and King, Rema Hort Mann Foundation: Buy What You Love, New York, NY
2016
- Chris Davison Gallery, Sensing Place, Group Show, Newburgh, NY, Curators: Chris Davison, Kevin Kearns
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New York Public Library, Librarian’s Choice, New York, NY, Curator: Fred Gutzeit
- Cara Gallery, Rema Hort Mann Foundation: Buy What You Love, New York, NY
2014
- Rox Gallery, Now You See, Group Show, New York, NY, Curator: Emerald Fitzgerald
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Bosi Contemporary, Rema Hort Mann Foundation: Buy What You Love, New York, NY
- Rox Gallery, Ascension, Group Show, New York, NY, Curator: Emerald Fitzgerald
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The Space, Pop-up Gallery, New York, NY, Curator: Emma Reilly
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Our Lower East Side, The Yard, New York, NY, Curator: Traven Rice
- En Masse, RAW Cleveland, Group Show. More info.
Related
- Interviewed for “Media in the Mix” podcast, American University, School of Communication, 12/22
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Fall, 2019: Image selected for publication in Simultaneous Soloists: The work of Anthony McCall. Pioneer Press, New York.
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Summer & Fall, 2018: Contributor, WFMU Rancho Thatchmo Radio Show, Host: Thatcher Keats (WGXC, WFMU)
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2016: Guest Lecturer, Color Photography, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York NY
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2015: Guest Artist, Harlan Levey Projects, Brussels, BE
- 2014: Juror, See.me Exposure 2014, International Photography Competition, New York, New York
Certifications
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Using Critical Consciousness to Challenge Inequity, Sanford Inspire, National University System
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Foundations in Health and Safety, Office of Children and Family Services
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Youth Engagement Matters, University of Minnesota, Extension
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Mandated Reporter, Identifying and Reporting Child Abuse and Maltreatment, Office of Children and Family Services
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Teaching Online: Best Practices for the Live Online Classroom
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Positive Behavior in Schools I: Introduction to Schoolwide Behavior Systems: PBS Teachline
- Confronting Sexual Harassment - Tools and Strategies to Create a Harassment-free Workplace, NYC Commission on Human Rights