Colleen Walsh

Fun and leisure find an oasis in her abstract sceneries and relationships flourish amongst saturated hues. Utilizing the aura of good times and love documented in found imagery, Walsh’s paintings elaborate on the visual narrative and appeal to the universal experience of the human condition. Colleen Walsh paints new works of art, picking up where a photographer left off, from her decades-old, ever expanding collection of other people's photographs.

Colleen Walsh (b.1982) is a fine artist and maker thriving on the Southside of Chicago. Her paintings are mixed media, ranging from spray paint to oils. Her work weaves figures into abstract atmospheres, that vibrate with saturated pinks, blues, and neon colors (among others). These colors serve as a beacon of joy amidst winter months, temper tantrums, and the volatile politics of our time. A constant inspiration for her work is extended family, friends, and dogs (who live in close proximity). Walsh’s work revolves around the themes of relationships, family dynamics, and beauty in mundanity. Her studio, in the basement of her single-family home, is a haven where she works away from her full-time parenting job. Her dogs keep her feet warm and her work intends to stay on the sunny side...

+ Masters of Art in Teaching, Columbia College, Chicago, IL, 2010
+ Bachelors in Fine Arts: Painting, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, IL, 2004

+ 2024 Girlfriends, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
+ 2023 Valentines, Salon LB, Chicago IL (represented)
+ 2022 The Other Art Fair, Chicago, IL
+ 2021 The Other Art Fair, Chicago, IL
+ 2020 The Other Art Fair, Chicago, IL (cancelled)
+ 2019 Practical Romantics, ARC Gallery, Chicago, IL (group exhibition)
+ 2019 Downers Grove Art Walk, Make Art Studio & Downers Grove, IL (group exhibition)
+ 2019 Mail-In Show, Lawrence & Clark Gallery, Chicago, IL (group exhibition)
+ 2018 Visual Ensembles, Treehouse Gallery, Downers Grove, IL (group exhibition)
+ 2016 Island Block, Beverly Art Walk, Chicago, IL (group exhibition)
+ 2015 Beverly Art Walk, Chicago, IL (group exhibition)
+ 2015 Uprising Makers Fair, Chicago, IL (art fair)
+ 2013 Renegade Craft Fair, Chicago, IL (art fair)
+ 2010 Teachers Heart Art Show, Columbia College, Chicago, IL (group exhibition)
+ 2004 Thesis, Lincoln Square, Urbana, IL (solo exhibition)
+ 2004 I Heart Art, Link Gallery, Champaign, IL (group exhibition)
+ 2003 2 x 2, Link Gallery, Champaign, IL (group exhibition)

+ Curator & Exhibitor:
+ 2013 Pearl: A Pop-Up Art Boutique: V, Rock Island Public House, Blue Island, IL
+ 2012 Pearl: A Pop-Up Art Boutique: IV, George's Sweets, Chicago, IL
+ 2012 Pearl: A Pop-Up Ar...