Artist Bio & CV

Chantal Lesley is a conceptual photographer living and working in Austin, TX. Lesley is a multicultural, first-generation American originally born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley, located along the U.S./Mexico border. Being the daughter of immigrants, having cultural backgrounds from both Germany and Peru has inflicted a feeling of being stretched between four cultures and has led her to confront ideas that focus on identity and sociological contemporary issues in her work. Lesley has recently acquired her BFA in Fine Art Photography from Texas State University, and her work has been exhibited throughout Texas and the US. Selected shows include Houston Center for Photography, (Houston, TX); Craighead Green Gallery, (Dallas, TX); Touchstone Gallery, (Washington D.C); and Humble Arts Foundation, (New York City, NY). Lesley was recognized as an Honorable Mention recipient of the Lenscratch Student Prize in 2021, and will be exhibiting her first solo show titled En Medio de la Nostalgia in 2022. In May 2022 Lesley was the Artist in Residence at LATITUDE (Chicago, IL).

CV PDF
education
2021
BFA | Fine Art Photography, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
continuing Education programs
2021
Photographic Center Northwest, Seattle, WA
EXPERIENCE
2020-2021
Photo Lab Monitor, Sabinal Gallery, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
2021
Astromaterials 3D Image Processing Intern, NASA, Houston, TX
2021
Assistant Gallery Preparator, Texas State Galleries, San Marcos, TX
2021
Assistant to Harry James Hanson, Legends of Drag, TX
2019
Assistant to Obsidian + Blush, Austin, TX
Residencies
2022
LATITUDE, Chicago, IL
awards & grants
2022
Hohlt and Wich Emerging Photographer Scholarship, Houston Center for Photography
2021
Honorable Mention, 2021 Lenscratch Student Prize
Honorable Mention, Texas State School of Art and Design Student Juried Exhibition, Curator: Christopher Blay
Names Family Foundation Scholarship, Photographic Center Northwest, Seattle WA
BFA Thesis Proposal Scholarship, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
Silver - Portrait Photography, Graphis New Talent 2021
2020
Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Honors College, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
Honorable Mention, Third Coast Biennial, K Space Contemporary, Corpus Christi, TX, Curator: Rigoberto Luna
Most Original, Exploring Scale in Art, LBJ Student Center Gallery, San Marcos, TX, Curator: Brianna McDonald
2019
AIGA Maura Rose Kampa Scholarship, AIGA, Austin, TX
Honorable Mention, enGENDERing Change, Cloyde Snook Gallery, Alamosa, CO Curators: Alan L. Woods & Ann Alaia Woods
Best in Show, Texas State School of Art and Design Student Juried Exhibition, Curator: Jenny Gheith
solo exhibitions
2022
[Forthcoming] En Medio de la Nostalgia, Dougherty Arts Center, Austin, TX
selected group exhibitions
2022

[Forthcoming] LATITUDE'S 10th Anniversary Exhibition, Chicago Art Department, Chicago, IL, Curator: Asha Iman Veal
Issue 157
, Fraction Magazine -14th Anniversary Issue, link

2021

GAZE, Arts to Hearts x All She Makes, Curator: Svitlana Martynjuk, link
What we’ve found: Generational Spirit, Aint-Bad, Curator: Toby Kaufmann, link
2021 Summer Show, The Curated Fridge, Curator: Michael Behlen, link
$5 Video: A National Juried Exhibition, LHUCA, Lubbock, TX, Curator: Aaron Hegert
Time Capsule, Photographic Center Northwest, Seattle, WA, Curator: Shamim M. Momin, link
When Words Fail, Visionary Art Collective, Curator: Grace Lang, link
School of Art and Design Student Juried Exhibition, TX State Galleries, San Marcos, TX, Curator: Christopher Blay
Back to Abnormal, Texas State Galleries, San Marcos, TX
Contemporary Practice ‘21, Houston Center for Photography, Houston, TX
Rising Eyes of Texas, Rockport Center for the Arts, Rockport,TX, Curator: Rigoberto Luna
Perpetual Impermanence, Gallery of the Common Experience, San Marcos, TX, Curator: Riley Taber
small works - BIG TALENT, Las Laguna Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
La Frontera: A New Latinx Lexicon, Humble Arts Foundation, Curator: Erick Guzman, link

2020

2020 All Women, J Mane Gallery
Shop Texas,
Presa House Gallery, San Antonio, TX
Artopsy: Perceptions of the Body,
Online Group Exhibition, San Marcos, TX
US: What divides us and what unites us?,
Touchstone Gallery, Washington DC, Curators: Kimberli Gant, Kristen Hileman, Frauke V. Josenhans, Miranda Lash, Karen E. Milbourne, Gabriel Ritter
Women Artists Making Their Mark,
O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, CA, Curator: Donna Seager & Suzanne Gray
Sensibility: Revealed Truths, Tensions, and Vulnerability,
Art Room, Fort Worth, TX, Curator: Taylor Barnes
Third Coast Biennial, K Space Contemporary,
Corpus Christi, TX, Curator: Rigoberto Luna
TEXAS NOW Online Showcase,
Artspace111, Fort Worth, TX
New Texas Talent XXVII,
Craighead Green Gallery, Dallas, TX, Curator: Giovanni Valderas, link
Creative Distancing,
Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, TX
Truth, LBJ Student Center Gallery,
San Marcos, TX, Juror: Brianna McDonald
School of Art and Design Student Juried Exhibition, TX State Galleries, San Marcos, TX, Juror: Ed Schad
Drowned Neon Rose, I Like Your Work Juried Show Winter 2020, Juror: Kristin Lamb, link
Exploring Scale in Art, LBJ Student Center Gallery, San Marcos, TX, Juror: Brianna McDonald
Moral Fiber, Gallery of the Common Experience, San Marcos, TX, Juror: Shannon Faseler
41st Annual Juried Art Exhibition,
Monmouth Museum, Lincroft, NJ, Juror: Grace Graupe-Pillard
35th Annual International Exhibition,
Meadows Gallery, University of Texas, Tyler, TX, Juror: Leslie Moody Castro

2019

Mix ‘n’ Mash, Mexicarte Museum, Austin, TX
E.A.S.T. (East Austin Studio Tour),
Studio Cube, Austin, TX
Presence and Absence,
Sabinal Gallery, San Marcos, TX, Juror: Austen Villacis
First Come, First-Show,
Mantle Art Space, San Antonio, TX
The Fl3tch3r Exhibit: Social and Politically Engaged Art,
Reece Museum at East Tennessee University, Johnson City, TN,
Juror: Sue Coe
enGENDERing Change,
Cloyde Snook Gallery, Adams State University, Alamosa, CO, Jurors: Alan L. Woods & Ann Alaia Woods
Art as Advocacy: Promoting Equity and Social Justice for Women,
Springfield Art Association, Springfield, IL, Jurors: Jan Brandt, Beate Minkovski, Patricia Olson
Solo Show [Down],
Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Fort Worth, TX, Juror: Christina Rees
School of Art and Design Student Juried Exhibition,
TX State Galleries, San Marcos, TX, Juror: Jenny Gheith

publications & press
2022

May 2022 Artist in Residence: Chantal Lesley, LATITUDE, May 2022, link

How We See Ourselves, The Luupe, link

A Photographer Contemplates Her Family's Cross-Cultural History "In The Midst of Nostalgia", Humble Arts Foundation, January 2022, link

2021

En Medio de la Nostalgia, Deep Red Press, October 2021, link
Codifying a Multifaceted Identity: Chantal Lesley - En Medio de la Nostalgia, September 2021, link
Chantal Lesley: The Lenscratch 2021 Student Prize Winner Honorable Mention, July 2021, link
The 2021 Lenscratch Student Prize: 26 Photographers to Watch, link
New Talent Annual 2021, Graphis, link

2020

COVID19 Reflections Winners, Bartur Photo Award, June 8, 2020, link
Photographer of the Day: Chantal Lesley, PHmuseum January 15, 2020, link
For Women Who Roar: Body Issue

lectures, talks, & presentations
2022

Open Studio: Chantal Lesley, LATITUDE, Chicago, IL, May 20, 2022

2021

Artist Talk: Chantal Lesley, Touchstone Gallery, Washington, D.C. March 9, 2021, link
Artist Talk: Perpetual Impermanence, Gallery of the Common Experience, San Marcos, TX, March 5, 2021, link

2020

Artist Talk: Chantal Lesley, Touchstone Gallery, Washington, D.C. Sept. 18, 2020, link
Artist Talk: Chantal Lesley, K Space Contemporary, Corpus Christi, TX Sept. 5, 2020, link

extra curricular
2018-2020

Middle Grey Photography Association - Public Relations Officer
FASA (Fine Art Student Association) - Member