Margaret Chiaro

I have been obsessed with the creative process since I was a small child. My imagination runs wild with scenes from movies and books never made nor written. I try to capture these pictorial thoughts in a way that is both relatable and fantastic. I use figurative painting to invite the viewer to enter this unique world or moment.

I love duality and opposition, balance over symmetry, and the idea of shared energy. Spending hundreds of hours on a single piece, painting everything by hand with traditional techniques, I obsessively render my subjects, caught in moments when they are open and expressive. Through my chosen genre, Magical Realism, I fuse reality with imagination to create a visceral new “world” for the subject to dwell in and the viewer to observe and interpret.

Masters of Fine Arts, May 2009

New York Academy of Art, NYC



Bachelor of Fine Arts, May 2006

University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

Cheeky. Covet Gallery. April 2024. Oceanside, CA.

Radiant. SIP Art Space. April-May 2024. San Marcos, CA.

Gods and Monsters. Divergence Art Collective. Distinction Gallery. April-May 2024. Escondido, CA.

Interflow. IFSTUDIO. March-April 2024. Los Angeles, CA.

Opposites. Divergence Art Collective. Distinction Gallery. February 2024. Escondido, CA.

The No Theme, Theme Show. Covet Gallery. January-February 2024. Oceanside, CA.

Contemporary Interpretations. Oceanside Museum of Art. June-October 2023. Oceanside, CA.

Group Exhibition. Legend Nano Gallery at Techne Art Center. January-March 2023. Oceanside, CA.

The Floral Guild. KNVS Bar. July-November 2022. Oceanside, CA.

2022 Juried Exhibition. Front Porch Gallery. July-September 2022. Carlsbad, CA.

Oceanside Museum of Art Auction. June-August 2022. Oceanside, CA.

Dreams and Daylight. Sparks Gallery. April-July 2022. San Diego, CA.

Renewal. Front Porch Gallery. March-May 2022. Carlsbad, CA.

2022 Artist Alliance Biennial. Oceanside Museum of Art. Dec. 2021-May 2022. Oceanside, CA.

San Diego Drag Icons. The Studio Door. August 2021. San Diego, CA.

2021 Juried Exhibition. Front Porch Gallery. July-September 2021. Carlsbad, CA.

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