Shaun Richards' current work consists of painting and constructions that examine social dynamics, and role modeling, along with the interplay of media within American society. His work, evolving from an interest centered on the South, questions notions of beauty, artifice, materialism, and nostalgia. By combining mixed media, stencils, and traditional modes of painting, Richards has expanded upon these themes and continues to investigate ethics, social dynamics, proletarian concepts, and psycho-social influences. Richards attended Hagerstown Junior College in Maryland before transferring to UNC-Wilmington, where he earned a BA in Art in 1999. In January 2007 he was awarded the Regional Emerging Artist Residency at Artspace. In September 2007, he was featured in Southwest Art's annual emerging artist issue, 21 under 31. In November 2007, he was included in his first museum show, The Human Scale, at the Cameron Museum in Wilmington, NC. In April 2008, he was awarded Best in Show for his piece Bootleg Romanticism, by Dr. Larry Wheeler, Director of the North Carolina Museum of Art, Juror for the North Carolina Artists Exhibition. Richards was awarded and recently completed a residency at The Bemis Center in Omaha, NE, for October-December 2009. He was most recently awarded "Best in Show" at the Artspace Artists' Association by juror, Trevor Schoonmaker - Curator of Contemporary Art at The Nasher Museum at Duke University. Richards is represented by Flanders Art Gallery in Raleigh, NC.