Galen Cheney

Galen Cheney is a painter’s painter. Her education as a painter began at Mount Holyoke College and continued at The Maryland Institute, College of Art, where she was mentored and critiqued by Sal Scarpitta and Grace Hartigan (among others) and mostly left to teach herself how to paint. Twenty-five years later, she continues to push herself and her work with honesty, commitment, and fearlessness. Deep diving into her own creative process, Cheney is a physical artist whose richly layered paintings embody her curiosity about and exploration of materials and her own psyche. She was born in Los Angeles though has spent most of her life in New England where she feels a deep connection to the land and centuries-old architecture. A childhood trip to Europe was the start of her enduring love of travel and fascination with ancient civilizations. Cheney’s work has been exhibited in the U.S., Canada, Italy, and China, and recent recognition includes fellowships from the Millay Colony, Vermont Studio Center, Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, Da Wang Culture Highland, and a nomination for a Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant in Painting. Her home and studio are in North Adams, Massachusetts.

MFA Maryland Institute, College of Art, Baltimore
BA Cum Laude, Mount Holyoke College
Smith College Junior Year Abroad, Florence, Italy
Santa Reparata Printmaking Studio, Florence, Italy
East West College of the Healing Arts, Portland, OR
Taft School, Watertown, CT

Fellowship, Da Wang Culture Highland, Shenzhen, China, 2015
Residency award, The Millay Colony for the Arts, 2014
Nomination, Joan Mitchell Foundation grant for painting, 2013
Full Fellowship, Vermont Studio Center, 2013, 1998
Open Studios Press publication award, Vol. 86, 2010
Artist's Resource Trust Award, Berkshire Taconic Foundation, 2007
Alliance of Visual Arts, Juror's Choice Award, 2005
Beaverton Arts Commission, first prize in painting, 1999

Edgewater Gallery, Stowe, VT
Aidron Duckworth Museum, Meriden, NH
TJ Walton Gallery, Provincetown, MA
DaWang Culture Highland, Shenzhen, China
Art Miami, Wynwood, FL
Greenville Center for the Arts, Greenville, NC
IDEA Museum, Mesa, AZ

Green Mountain College, Poultney, VT
Gray Contemporary, Houston, TX
The Painting Center, New York NY
Noho M55 Gallery, New York, NY
AVA Gallery, Lebanon, NH
Burlington International Airport
Helen Day Art Center, Stowe, VT
Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, Cornish, NH
BCA, Burlington, VT
Fleming Museum, Burlington, VT
Volo Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Johnson State College
Vermont Supreme Court, Montpelier, VT
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Hanover, NH
AVA Gallery, Lebanon, NH
College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
Vermont Studio Center
Helen Day Art Center, Stowe, VT
West Branch Gallery, Stowe, VT
Burlington International Airport
Taft School
WomanMade Gallery, Chicago
Eastern Washington University
Jewish Community Center of Great New Haven
Gallery 84, New York, NY
Rogue Community College, Grants Pass, OR