Zoë Charlton

School of Art Director, Zoë Charlton (Baltimore, MD) creates figure drawings, collages, installations, and animations that depict her subject’s relationship to culturally loaded objects and landscapes.

Charlton received her MFA degree from the University of Texas at Austin and participated in residencies, including Artpace Residency (TX), McColl Center for Art + Innovation (NC), Ucross Foundation (WY), the Skowhegan School of Painting (ME), and the Patterson Residency at the Creative Alliance (MD). Her work has been included in national and international exhibitions including The Delaware Contemporary (DE), the Harvey B. Gantt Center (NC), Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (AR), Studio Museum of Harlem (NY), Contemporary Art Museum (TX), the Zacheta National Gallery of Art (Poland), and Haas & Fischer Gallery (Switzerland).

She is a recipient of a Pollock-Krasner grant (2012) and a Rubys grant (2014). Museum collections include The Phillips Collection (DC), Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (AR), Birmingham Museum of Art (AL), and Studio Museum in Harlem (NY). Charlton co-founded ‘sindikit (2016-2022)with DC-based artist Tim Doud, a collaborative art project that centered research through artmaking in gender, sexuality, race, and their economies.

She is co-founder of Kindred Creative Residence + Agro-ForesT (2022), based in Fletcher, VT. Kindred CRAFT is a BIPOC LGBTQIA+ led, inclusive collective of farmers, artists, educators, and activists committed to social justice. Charlton holds a seat on the Maryland State Arts Council; and is a board member at the Washington Project for the Arts (DC) and Threewalls (IL).

Charlton joined the faculty in the School of Art at George Mason University Fall 2022. She is a full Professor of Art and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in drawing, research methodologies, and contemporary art practices. From 2003-2022, she taught at American University (D.C.), received tenure in 2009, and promoted to Professor in 2021. She served as Chair of the AU Department of Art from 2015-2018 and was the first Black American tenured, full Professor in the department.

Photo credit: Grace Roselli for Pandora BoxX Project

Degree:

• MFA, University of Texas at Austin

Specialist Area:

• Drawing and Believer in the Transformative Power of Art