Catherine Spencer

Catherine Spencer is a Senior Lecturer in Art History at the University of St Andrews' School of Art History, Centre for Contemporary Art. Her research explores art’s intersections with political frameworks from the 1060s to the present, with a focus on

• Intersectional feminism
• Transnationalism
• Abstract art
• Technologies of mediation
• Art in the Americas and Europe

Current projects include Abstract Subjects: Art in Britain Between the Border and the Trace (2022) and Significant Others, Significant Women: Maud Sulter (2020-2022). She co-organized the Grassroots: Artmaking and Political Struggle event series (2021) and curated Life Support: Forms of Care in Art and Activism at Glasgow Women’s Library. Her recent publications analyze artists like Veronica Ryan and Annalee Davis through lenses of care theory and postcolonial critique.

Scientific awards include an AHRC Early Career Leadership Fellowship. She has supervised six PhDs to completion at St Andrews and Edinburgh, with ongoing supervision in abstract art and feminist practices. Collaborative activities span curatorial projects with Kettle’s Yard Gallery and research networks in Glasgow-based feminist art circles.