Shaun Richards' current work consists of paintings and constructions that examine social dynamics, and nostalgic constructs, along with the interplay of media within American society. Richards' work, evolving from an interest centered on the South, questions notions of beauty, artifice, and materialism. By combining mixed media, stencils, and traditional modes of painting on a variety of grounds, Richards expands 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 2003, he enrolled in SUNY Empire State College as a non-matriculated graduate student. This MLSA program afforded him a studio in Manhattan with weekly visits and critiques from established artists, critics, and curators. Richards left NYC in the spring of 2006, to return to North Carolina to pursue art full time. He moved to Raleigh in August 2006, and 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.

Currently, he is represented by Flanders Art Gallery (Raleigh, NC), and Fountainside Gallery (Wilmington, NC). He holds studio space at 311 Martin Street Galleries and Studios in downtown Raleigh.