Education
2027 MFA Illinois State University (in progress)
2021 BFA Massachusetts College of Art and Design. In Painting and Ceramics, with Honours
Exhibition Record
2024 2024 Incoming MFA Exhibition, Illinois State University, Normal, IL
2023 Fay Chandler Emerging Art Exhibition, Scollay Square Gallery, Boston, MA
2023 Fluid Borders, Bromfield Gallery, Boston, MA
2021 Graduating Senior Exhibition 2021, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
2021 MassArt All School Show, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
2021 The Stephen D. Paine Scholarship 2020 Exhibition, Alpha Gallery, Boston, MA
2021 2021 All Painting/Drawing Art Exhibition, Contemporary Art Gallery Online
2021 This is Not the End, Virtual
2019 Clay Clay Clay- Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
2019 MassArt All School Show- Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
2019 MassArt FA2D Open House- Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
2017 Stigma- Alhamra Art Gallery, Bernardsville, NJ
2016 Mammalia- Environmental Education Center, Basking Ridge, NJ
Awards/Grants/Fellowships
2024 The Drake Elfine Scholarship
2024 Kenneth Holder MFA Painting Award
2021 Daniel Kelleher Auction Award
2021 Manitou Foundation Award
2020 Stephen D. Paine Scholarship
2020 Russell P. Coleman Jr. Memorial Award
2019 Artist & Craftsman Supply Award
Teaching
2024 Teaching Assistant, Life Drawing, Illinois State University, Normal, IL
2021 - 2024 Teacher, Clay Lounge, Boston
2020 - 2024 Teaching Assistant, Wheel Working, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
2022 Teaching Assistant, Image on Clay, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
2019 Teaching Assistant, Wood Working, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
Caitlyn Chwatek was born in 1999 and raised in New Jersey before moving to Boston where she received a BFA in both Painting and Ceramics from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2021. She is currently attending ISU’s MFA program. The paintings are primarily genre scenes and landscapes done in oil, while her ceramic work comprises of functional ware. Her studio practice is heavily inspired by history, current events, and psychology.
I paint things that are ordinary in a way that feels somewhat extraordinary. The goal is to be mundane yet elegant, clear yet mysterious, and simple yet complex. While always looking for new ways of doing so, I am interested in painting the world representationally. These paintings reflect everyday life in an effort to tell stories in a subtle way. My goal is to reflect the world we live in, but without telling people what they are supposed to think. The compositions are detailed yet somewhat vague in order to give the viewer the opportunity to think about what is going on for themselves. These particular paintings are an exploration of the factors, circumstances, and systems that affect our health; specifically technology, environment, relationships, food, products, psychology, and community.
Northern Baroque genre painting, Romanticism, and Impressionism inspire my work as artists from these periods found ways to blend multiple layers into a single moment. Endless possibilities are encapsulated to create something specific, yet in a way that evokes different interpretations from everyone who sees it.
This body of work is an investigation of light, color, and texture; hopefully the viewer will be enticed to slow down and do some investigating of their own. My hope for the paintings is for each of them to be a harmonization of understanding and imagination.