James Chronister
About the Artist
Biography
In his paintings, James Chronister has produced a visual language that oscillates between personal and universal ideas of landscape and place. Based on his own photographs of his native state of Montana, Chronister renders images using thinned black oil paint on a white or neutral-colored ground, conveying space and depth utilizing mark-making akin to an intaglio print. In these recent works, the white ground becomes highlights, the opaque passages become shadows and cross-hatching become mid-tones. Unassuming but vastly complex in their subtlety, these scenes of nature depict an unseen environment that is both rich and rewarding of investigation.
Though reminiscent of such postmodern masters as Gerhard Richter and Luc Tuymans, Chronister has devised a painterly language much his own. Working with a tiny brush and one dark, neutral color on carefully hued, off-white canvases, Chronister achieves a startling range of tonality and depth. Viewed up-close, the paintings are constructed by a series of small, discrete marks: a binary system of data--like type on a page--that results in a surreal density of information. Step back, and the pictures cohere. The eye and mind struggle to reconcile the illusionism of these paintings with the narrow, restrained means of their technique.
— Jake Longstreth
Chronister earned his BFA (High Honors) as a University Scholar (Davidson Honors College) from the University of Montana, Missoula in 2001 and his MFA (with Distinction) from the California College of the Arts, San Francisco in 2004. Chronister was awarded the Fox and Miles Scholarships while at the University of Montana and the Richard K. Price Scholarship while at the California College of the Arts. In 2013, Chronister was awarded the Artist-In-Residence at the Lux Art Institute in Encinitas, California, which was accompanied by a survey of his work from the years 2009-2013. Chronister was nominated for the SECA Award from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 2010 and 2018. In 2020 Chronister was a recipient of the Bay Area Visual Artist Production Relief Grant from Evergold Projects, San Francisco. Chronister has been a visiting artist at the California College of the Arts, the Lux Art Institute and the San Francisco Art Institute.
Public collections of Chronister’s work include the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Stanford Hospital, San Francisco International Airport, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, San Francisco General Hospital, Nion McEvoy Family Collection, Paul Wattis III Family Collection and the Howard Tullman Family Collection.
The artist lives and works in Missoula, Montana.
Resume
Born 1978, Helena, Montana, USA
Lives and works in Joliet, Montana
Education
2004
MFA California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA
2001
BFA (High Honors) University of Montana, Missoula, MT
1999
University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
Solo Exhibitions
2021
In Between Days, Eli Ridgway Gallery, Bozeman, MT
2019
Selections of New Work, Eleanor Harwood Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2017
Glass Summers, Eleanor Harwood Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2016
Sup Paintings, %100 Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2015
Better Bowls, More Crackers, Eleanor Harwood Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2014
Bitterroot, Eleanor Harwood Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2013
James Chronister: Paintings 2009-2013, Lux Art Institute, Encinitas, CA
2011
Now We Lustre, Eleanor Harwood Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2010
Ceremony, Burnet Gallery at Chambers Hotel, Minneapolis, MN
2009
All We Ever Wanted Was Anything, Eleanor Harwood Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2007
Listen Like Thieves, Bloom Studios, Oakland, CA
Group Exhibitions/Art Fairs
2021
Art of Trees, The Gund Gallery, Kenyon College, Gambier, OH
2020
Bozeman Inaugural Exhibition, Eli Ridgway Gallery, Bozeman, MT
Rooted: Trees in Contemporary Art, Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto, CA
Spaces, Burnet Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Invincible Summer, Minnesota Street Project, San Francisco, CA
Bay Area Visual Artist Production Relief Grant Exhibition, Evergold Projects, San Francisco, CA
2019
O! ‘darkly, deeply, beautifully blue,’ As someone somewhere sings…, Eleanor Harwood Gallery, San Francisco, CA
OK, Wow. GREAT, 1240 Minnesota Street, San Francisco, CA, curated by Brion Nuda Rosch
Selections of New Work, Eleanor Harwood Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2018
Arts & Nature Social Club, CIRCLE CULTURE, Berlin, Germany, curated by Johann Haehling von Lanzenauer
2017
James Chronister and Megan Reed, Interim, Oakland, CA, curated by Aaron Harbour
2016
Sup Paintings, %100 Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2016
We’re Together, Good Mother Gallery, Oakland, CA, curated by Grant Gutierrez
I Never Learned the Title of the Song I Always Sing, Minnesota Street Project, San Francisco, CA, curated by Brion Nuda Rosch
ArtMRKT, San Francisco, CA
2015
An Arbitrary Group of Paintings, Et Al, San Francisco, CA
2014
Bay Area Now 7, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
Miami Project, Miami FL
2013
ArtMRKT, San Francisco, CA
2012
Scope Art Fair, via Eleanor Harwood Gallery, New York, NY
Aqua Art Fair, via Eleanor Harwood Gallery, Miami, FL
ArtPad Art Fair, via Eleanor Harwood Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2011
Chromaticism, NOMA Gallery, SF, CA, Curated by Liz Wing
ArtMRKT Fair, via Eleanor Harwood Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Aqua Art Fair, via Eleanor Harwood Gallery, Miami, FL
2010
San Francisco Fine Arts Fair, San Francisco, via Eleanor Harwood Gallery,
Space: Series 1, Truesilver Union Gallery, San Francisco, CA
It’s Only Rock and Roll But I Like It, Truesilver Union Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Chimera: Fabrications of the Mind, Gensler, SF, CA, curated by Mathew Hughes Boyko
Scope Art Fair, via Eleanor Harwood Gallery, New York, NY
Curated by Alexis MacKenzie at the POVevolving Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2009
Aqua Art Fair, via Eleanor Harwood Gallery, Miami, FL
2008
Art: Work, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (staff show), San Francisco, CA
2006
Paintings From Pluto, Gallery of Urban Art, Emeryville, CA (w/Jake Longstreth) (two-person show)
Trucker Hats Vs. Sideways Haircuts, On Six Gallery, San Francisco, CA, Curated by Leslie Shows
Celebrity, Café Royal, San Francisco, CA, Curated by Mathew Hughes Boyko
Snap, Crackle, Pop, PlaySpace Gallery, CCA, San Francisco, CA (catalog), Curated by Sarrita Hunn
2004
MFA Thesis Exhibition, CCA, San Francisco, CA. Curated by Mathew Higgs
50 Below, PlaySpace Gallery, CCA, San Francisco, CA
Green Couch Soirée, Southern Exposure, San Francisco, CA
2003
99 Bottles, Build Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Spaces to Fall Into, Slingshot Gallery, Berkeley, CA
Collectively, CCA, San Francisco, CA
2002
Slingshot, Alpha Galleries, CCA, San Francisco, CA
Feedback, Alpha Galleries, CCA, San Francisco, CA
ANA 31, Holter Museum of Art, Helena, MT, Juried by Gerald Peters
Montana Artists, Melanie Alvarez Gallery, Missoula, MT
2001
B.F.A. Thesis Exhibition, Gallery of Visual Arts, Missoula, MT
ANA 30, Holter Museum of Art, Helena, MT, Juried by Peter Schjeldahl
Amnesty International Human Rights Cultural Exhibition, University Center Ballroom, Missoula, MT
Grants/Awards
2020
Bay Area Visual Artist Production Relief Grant, Evergold Projects, San Francisco, CA
2018
SECA Nomination, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
2013
Artist in Residence, Lux Art Institute, Encinitas, CA
2010
SECA Nomination, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
2004
Richard K. Price Scholarship (painting), CCA, San Francisco, CA
2003
CCA Scholarship (painting), CCA, San Francisco, CA
2001
B.F.A. with High Honors, University of Montana, Missoula, MT
University Scholar, Davidson Honors College, University of Montana, Missoula, MT
Fox Scholarship, University of Montana, Missoula, MT
2000
Miles Scholarship, U of M, Missoula, MT
Bibliography
2017
“Now Featuring James Chronister,” Little Paper Planes Blog, Interview by Maggie Haas
2015
“James Chronister: Better Bowls More Crackers,” Artists Speak interview, by Katie McCracken. ArtistsSpeak.org ”
2013
“The Paintings of James Chronister at Lux Art Institute,” Sunset Magazine, by Thomas Story
“Being Alone: The Paintings of James Chronister at Lux,” San Diego Story, by Kraig Cavanaugh
“Visiting Lux Artist Paints in the Dark, “KPBS San Diego, by Angela Carone
“Connecting the Dots at Lux,” UT San Diego, by James Chute
“James Chronister Prefers the Imperfect,” San Diego City Beat, by Alex Zaragoza
“LUX Kids: Lux Kids are Experimenting with James Chronister’s Dot-Painting Technique,” Lux Blog, by Kara Leen
“DAILY SERVING: An Interview with Jame Chronister,” DAILY SERVING, by Robin Tung
2012
“Studio Visit with James Chronister,” This Month’s Edition, by Jonathan Casella
“Lux Announces Fall Line-Up,” San Diego Union-Tribune,, Nov 20th
“Lux Announces New Artists for 2013 Residency,” NC Times, June 21st
2011
Featured Artist, New American Painting, Issue 91
“James Chronister,” American Art Collector, June Issue
“Rackroom: Interview with James Chronister,” Artslant
“Editorial Recomendations,” Visual Art Source
2010
“Rock and Roll, Cali and Why Garth Brooks Didn’t Make the Cut,” FRANK 151
“James Chronister on ‘Ceremony’ at the Burnet Gallery,” Skyway of Love
“James Chronister: Ceremony,” Citypages, Minneapolis, MN
2009
In Black and White, by Kristi Beardshear, Artslant.com
James Chronister at Eleanor Harwood Gallery, by Jake Longstreth, Shotgun-Review.com
2006
Snap, Crackle, Pop, Exhibition Catalog, SF, CA
2001
ANA 30 Artists, Independent Record, Helena, MT
1999
American Institute for Foreign Study Student Journal, Salamanca, Spain
Lectures
2015
Artist Lecture, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
2013
Artist Lecture, Lux Art Institue, Encinitas, CA
2012
Artist Lecture, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA
2011
Artist Lecture, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA
Selected Collections
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
Stanford Hospital, Redwood City, CA
San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, CA
Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, CA
San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco, CA
Nion McEvoy Collection, San Francisco and Petaluma, CA
Paul Wattis III Collection, San Francisco, CA
Howard Tullman Collection, Chicago, CA
Summer 8 (2) and Deinze 3, 2019–2020
Oil on canvas
72 x 54 inches
Rooted: Trees in Contemporary Art, Palo Alto Arts Center, Palo Alto, CA, 2020.