Jaq Chartier's paintings explore scientific methods through experimentation with paint and process. All of her works are "tests" to discover something about materials and what they do. Inspired in part by images of DNA gel electrophoresis, Chartier investigates the migration of various stains through layers of paint and acrylic gels.

Paintings such as, 1 Day vs. 1 Week [2006], Sun Test: 40 Whites [2004-2010], and Large Spectrum Chart [2010] – titles that attest to such experimentation – feature intimate views of materials as they react to each other, to light, and the passage of time, including notes written directly on the paintings. Through experimentation, observation and notation Chartier creates sensuous paintings that provide commentary on both the visual culture and everyday practice of scientific investigation by highlighting similarities between artistic and scientific practice.

Chartier's paintings have been featured in major exhibitions including: Genipulation: Genetic Engineering and Manipulation in Contemporary Art, at CentrePasqueArt, Kunsthaus Centre d’art, Biel Bienne, Switzerland; Genesis – Die Kunst der Schöpfung (The Art of Creation), at Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, Switzerland; Diagnose [Art]: Contemporary Art Reflecting Medicine, at the Kunst-Museum Ahlen, Germany; and Gene(sis): Contemporary Art Explores Human Genomics, which traveled from the Henry Art Gallery in Seattle, to the Berkeley Art Museum, Weisman Art Museum, and Block Museum of Art. Her paintings have been featured in books and publications including Art+Science Now, by Stephen Wilson, and Art in the Age of Technoscience: Genetic Engineering, Robotics, and Artificial Life in Contemporary Art, by Ingeborg Reichle. Awards include an Artist Trust/Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship, and PONCHO Special Recognition Award from the Seattle Art Museum's Betty Bowan Committee. She was also a Creative Capital Grant finalist and a Joan Mitchell Foundation Award nominee, and is a current finalist for the 2011 Contemporary Northwest Art Award at the Portland Art Museum. Her work has been collected by Microsoft , Rosetta Inpharmatics, the Progressive Art Collection, and others.
Jaq Chartierdownload printable CV: 2-pg PDF (condensed version) 4-pg (.rtf text format)
Education
1994 MFA, painting, University of Washington, Seattle
1984 BFA, painting (Cum Laude), University of Massachusetts, Amherst
1980-81 Syracuse University, NY
 
Solo Exhibitions
2013 Elizabeth Leach, Portland (May)
2011 "Slow Color," Morgan Lehman Gallery, New York
2010 "SuperNatural," Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland
2009 "Downtime," Platform Gallery, Seattle
2008 "Color Charts," Haines Gallery, San Francisco
"Full Spectrum," Elizabeth Leach, Portland
"Testing," William Baczek Fine Arts, Northampton, MA
2007 "Color Tests," Schroeder Romero, NY
2006 "Testing," University of Michigan, Institute for the Humanities, Ann Arbor
"Blindsight," Platform Gallery, Seattle
2005 "Testing," LIMN Gallery, San Francisco
"Testing," Elizabeth Leach, Portland
2004 "Testing," Schroeder Romero, Brooklyn
"Testing," LIMN Gallery, San Francisco
2003 "Testing," Schroeder Romero, Brooklyn
"New Work," William Traver Gallery, Tacoma, WA
2002 "Testing," Frumkin/Duval, Santa Monica
"Testing," LIMN, San Francisco
"Testing," Cervini Haas Gallery, Scottsdale
2001 "Testing," William Traver Gallery, Seattle
2000 "Testing," Cervini Haas Gallery, Scottsdale
1998 "Testing," William Traver Gallery, Seattle
1997 William Traver Gallery, Seattle
Laura Russo Gallery, Portland
1996 William Traver Gallery, Seattle
1995 William Traver Gallery, Seattle
 
Selected Group Exhibitions
2013 "Chamber Music," Frye Art Museum, Seattle
2012 "Elles: SAM Gallery," Seattle Tower Building, Seattle
"Elles : Platform," Platform Gallery, Seattle
2011 "One Thing Leads to Another: process and repetition in contemporary print and drawings," San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art
"Seattle As Collector: Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs Turns 40," 40th Anniversary Exhibition at Seattle Art Museum. Catalog.
2010 "Default State Network," Morgan Lehman Gallery, New York
"Expansion," Robischon Gallery, Denver
"The Power of Selection, part 3," Western Exhibitions, Chicago
"Opening Ceremony," Morgan Lehman Gallery, New York
"Non-Objective," William Baczek Gallery, Northampton, MA
"Northwest Mid-Career Artists," Seattle Public Utilities Portable Works, Seattle Municipal Tower Gallery
2009 "Genipulation: Genetic Engineering and Manipulation in Contemporary Art," CentrePasqueArt, Kunsthaus Centre d'art,
Biel Bienne, Switzerland. Catalog.
2008 "Genesis – Die Kunst der Schöpfung (The Art of Creation)," Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, Switzerland. Catalog.
"Does DNA Define You?" Sun Valley Center for the Arts, Ketchum, ID
2007 "Diagnose [Art]: Contemporary Art Reflecting Medicine," Museum im Kulturspeicher, Würzburg, Germany. Catalog.
"Human Nature II: Future Worlds," SoFA Gallery, Indiana University, Bloomington. Catalog.
"A Gathering of Friends," inaugural exhibition, Golden Foundation for the Arts Gallery, New Berlin, NY. Catalog.
"Beneath the Skin," LIMN Gallery, San Francisco
2006 "Diagnose [Art]: Contemporary Art Reflecting Medicine," book catalog, Kunst-Museum Ahlen, Germany, (reproductions).
"Potentially Mighty," p|m Gallery, Toronto, Canada
"Building Tradition," Whatcom Museum of History and Art, Bellingham, WA
2005 "5 Painters," Platform, Seattle
"Head Over Hand: pushing the limits of paint," Denise Bibro, NY
"Neddy Artist Fellowship Exhibition," Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA
2003 "Portals," Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids, MI
"Components," Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland, OR
2002 "Gene(sis): Contemporary Art Explores Human Genomics," Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle. Traveled through 2004: Berkeley Art Museum, University of California, Berkeley; Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; Mary & Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
2001 "Theory or Faith," LIMN Gallery, San Francisco
2000 "4x4: Four Decades of School of Art Alumni," Jacob Lawrence Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle
1999 "Neddy Artist Fellowship Exhibition," Seafirst Bank Gallery, Seattle
1998 "Hands On Color," Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, WA
"Pattern," Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland, OR
1997 "They Came Here First!" CoCA (Center on Comtemp. Art), and Bumbershoot Arts Festival, Seattle
"Beeswax," SOIL Gallery, Seattle
"Drawings...A Bi-Coastal Invitational," Meyerson & Nowinski Gallery, Seattle
1991 "The Figure: Personal Views and Collaborations," Northampton Center for the Arts, Northampton, MA
"Common Past, Recent Work," Wheeler Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
1990 "Viewing Ourselves," Hampden Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
1989 "Art and Soul," Hampshire College, Amherst, MA
 
Awards
2011 Contemporary Northwest Art Awards Finalist, Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR
2006 Neddy Fellowship Award nominee, Behnke Foundation, Seattle
2005 Neddy Fellowship Award nominee, Behnke Foundation, Seattle
2004 Special Projects Grant, 4Culture (Cultural Development Authority of King County), Seattle
Visual Arts Grant finalist, Creative Capital Foundation, NY
2003 Purchase Award - Portable Works Collection, City of Seattle, Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs
2002 Artist Trust/Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship, Seattle
2001 PONCHO Special Recognition Award, administered by the Betty Bowan Award Committee, Seattle Art Museum
Joan Mitchell Foundation Award nominee, NY
1999 Artist Trust GAP Grant (Grant for Artists' Projects), Seattle
Betty Bowan Award nominee, Seattle Art Museum
Centrum Residency, Port Townsend, WA
Neddy Fellowship Award nominee, Behnke Foundation, Seattle
 
Collections
Amgen, Seattle
Chambers Hotel, New York
City of Seattle, Portable Works Collection
Microsoft
The Progressive Art Collection
Rosetta Inpharmatics, Seattle
Schwartz Art Collection, Harvard Business School
Swedish Medical Center, Seattle
Tacoma Art Museum, WA
USAA
Wellington Management
  
Selected Bibliography (read reviews)
2012 Beal, Suzanne. "Seattle: A Celebration of Elles," art ltd, November/December, p. 42, (reproduction).
2011 Baker, R.C. "Best in Show:...Jaq Chartier at Morgan Lehman," The Village Voice, 3/30/11
Haber, John. "Color As Obsession," haberarts.com New York, 3/18/11, (reproduction)
Heinrich, Will. "On Display: Maya Block at Thierry Goldberg Projects; Jaq Chartier at Morgan Lehman," The New York Observer, 3/8/11, (reproduction).
Seattle As Collector: Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs Turns 40, catalog for 40th Anniversary Exhibition at Seattle Art Museum, (reproduction).
2010 Studio Visit, Volume 10, juried by Steven Zevitas, Needham Heights, Mass.: Open Studio Press, pp. 36-37, (reproductions).
Wilson, Stephen. Art+Science Now, New York: Thames & Hudson, p. 32, (reproduction).
2009 Battenfield, Jackie. The Artist’s Guide, New York: Da Capo Press, p. 134+ (reproduction).
Genipulation, exhibition catalog, CentrePasqueArt, Biel Bienne, Switzerland, pp. 54-59, (reproductions).
Hackett, Regina. "Jaq Chartier and the memento mori of a color field," Another Bouncing Ball, 5/1/09, (reproductions).
Mattera, Joanne. "Fair and Fair Alike: Miami 2009," Joanne Mattera Art Blog, 12/15/09, (reproductions).
Reichle, Ingeborg. Art in the Age of Technoscience: Genetic Engineering, Robotics, and Artificial Life in Contemporary Art. Austria: Springer WienNewYork. pp. 237-241, (reproductions).
2008 Baker, Kenneth. “Wauson remembered at Haines,” San Francisco Chronicle, 7/5/08.
Brady, Patti. Rethinking Acrylic, Cincinnati: North Light Books, p. 152, (reproduction).
Genesis - Die Kunst der Schöpfung (The Art of Creation), exhibition catalog, Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, Switzerland, p. 29, (reproduction).
Speer, Richard. “Profile: Jaq Chartier,” art ltd, September, pp. 66-67, (reproduction).
Studio Visit, Volume 4, juried by Carl Belz, Needham Heights, Mass.: Open Studio Press, pp. 32-33, (reproductions).
2007 Human Nature, exhibition catalog, SoFA Gallery, Indiana Univ. Bloomington, p. 63, (reproduction).
2006 Cantu, John Carlos, "Disintegration at the core...," Ann Arbor News, 2/5/06, p. C2, (reproduction).
Diagnose [Kunst], exhibition catalog, Kunstmuseum Ahlen, Germany, p. 133, (reproduction).
Dwell, "In the Modern World," 10/06, (reproduction).
Faigin, Gary. "Jaq Chartier at Platform Gallery," artdish.com, 9/23/06, (reproduction).
Grant, Adriana. "Ink that makes you think," Seattle Weekly, 10/4/06, (reproduction).
Graves, Jen. "Profanity, Testing, Explosion," The Stranger, 9/14/06, (reproduction).
Hackett, Regina. "Jaq Chartier breaks down decay...," Seattle P.I., 9/8/06, p. 29, (reproduction).
Hackett, Regina. "Serial in Seattle," Visual Codec, March, (reproduction).
Pence, Elizabeth. "Jaq Chartier at Platform Gallery," Artweek, [download PDF 8.7 MB], November, pp. 22-23, (reproduction).
Langley, Matthew, "Jaq Chartier @ Platform Gallery," Matthew Langley/weblog, 9/19/06, (reproduction).
Scott, Carrie E.A., "State of the Art," Seattle Magazine, [download PDF 4 MB], June, pp. 123-125, (reproduction).
Neddy Artist Fellowship, exhibition catalog, Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA.
'Testing' by Jaq Chartier, exhibition catalog [download catalog PDF 657 KB], Institute for the Humanities, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
2005 Engelson, Andrew. "Visual Arts Pick: Five Painters," Seattle Weekly, 7/13/05.
Kangas, Matthew. "Abstraction and revelations," Seattle Times, 7/8/05.
Koplos, Janet. “Report from Seattle: Plugged In and Caffeinated,” Art in America, [download PDF 4 MB], September, p.69, (reproduction).
Neddy Artist Fellowship, exhibition catalog, Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA.
New American Paintings. Vol. 61. Pacific West Coast edition. Needham Heights, Mass.: Open Studios Press, pp. 30-33.
Perry, Vicky. Abstract Painting Concepts and Techniques, New York: Watson-Guptill. Reproduction p. 125.
Reichle, Ingeborg. Kunst aus dem Labor: Zum Verhältnis von Kunst und Wissenschaft im Zeitalter der Technoscience. Austria: Springer WienNewYork. Reproductions on book cover and pp. 225-229.
Wiggin, Ashley. “The Art of Science,” Seattle Magazine, May, 2004, p. 30, (reproduction).
2004 Berry, Colin. "Jaq Chartier and Elizabeth Scheidl at LIMN Gallery," Artweek, June, pp. 12-13, (reproduction).
Baker, Kenneth, "Art grapples with science and politics," San Francisco Chronicle, 3/27/04, p. E-1, (reproduction).
Jaq Chartier, Testing. [Amazon.com or download PDF version of book 788 KB], Seattle: Marquand Books, 47pg hardcover book.
Maine, Stephen, "Dateline Brooklyn," Artnet.com, 9/30/04, (reproduction).
Pepper, Keane A. "The October Art Crawl," FREEwilliamsburg.com, October.
Shaviro, Steven, "Genetic Disorder," Artforum, [download PDF 3.6 MB], Januray, 2004, p. 42, (reproduction).
Stillman, Nick, "Jaq Chartier: Sun Tests at Schroeder Romero," MinusSpace.com, November, (reproductions).
2003 Bullis, Douglas. 100 Artists of the West Coast. Atglen, PA.: Schiffer Books, pp. 172-173.
Conner, Jill. "Jaq Chartier: Testing," Contemporary, [download PDF 5.8 MB], issue 53/54, p. 117-118, (reproduction).
Lovejoy, Bess. "Weird Science: Art and Chemistry Collide in the Lab of Jaq Chartier," Resonance, issue #38, p. 32-33, (reproductions).
Pepper, Keane A. "The April Crawl," FREEwilliamsburg.com, April, 2003.
2002 DeVuono, Frances. " 'Gene(sis)' at the Henry Art Gallery," Artweek, July/Aug 2002, p. 22.
Engelson, Andrew. "Dot Matrix: Jaq Chartier smears the line between art and science with her DNA-inspired blobs," Seattle Weekly, 3/28/02, p. 63, (reproduction).
Failing, Patricia. "Seizing the Moment," ARTnews, march, jp. 76.
Hackett, Regina. "Messing with Mother Nature," Seattle P-I, April 6, p. E-1.
Hall, Emily. "Haunted Houses," The Stranger, April 4, p. 30.
Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, Bioethics and the Book of Life. New York: Thirteen/WNET. Reproduction on video box and booklet covers.
Roth, Charlene. "Jaq Chartier and Amy Ellingson at Frumkin/Duval Gallery," Artweek, March, 2002, p. 17-18, (reproduction).
Staiger, Alex. "At the Crossroads where Science and Art Meet," Art Access, May, pp. 10-11., (reproduction).
Uehling, Mark D. "Designer Genes on Display," bio-itworld.com, 6/2/02.
Welles, Elenore. "Amy Ellingson and Jaq Chartier," ArtScene, January, 2002, p. 12-13, (reproduction).
2001 Cullum, Jerry. "Seductive changes," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 12/28/01.
New American Paintings, Vol. 31, Pacific West Coast edition. Needham Heights, MA: Open Studio Press. (also 1997, Vol. 13)
Westbrook, Lindsey. "Theory or Faith," San Francisco Bay Guardian, 8/15/01.
1998 Farr, Sheila. "Hands on Color at BAM...," Seattle Times, 11/17/98, p. E1.
Hackett, Regina. "Color hits the big time...," Seattle P-I, 11/27/98.
McTaggart, Tom. "Leaving a paper trail," Seattle Weekly, 8/20/98, p. 32, (reproduction).
1997 Burkman, Greg. "Digging in Deeper," Art Access (Seattle), 3/97.
Farr, Sheila. "Drawing on inspiration," Seattle Weekly, 7/16/97, p.33.
Knode, Marilu. "Dehesive," Aorta (Seattle), Summer-1997, p. 14.
McTaggart, Tom. "Biology Lessons," The Stranger (Seattle), 5/22/97, p. 56, (reproduction).
Smith, Cary. "Intergalactic Interpretations," News Tribune (Seattle), 7/6/97, p. F1.
Walker, Emily. "Loving the Aliens: UFO Art," The Daily of the Univ. of Washington, 6/2/97, p. 8.
1995 Foo Fighters, Capitol Records/Roswell Records. Reproductions inside CD booklet, on record album back cover, and on cassette J-card.