b. 1988, Brownsville, TX
lives and works in Austin, TX
chantallesley@gmail.com
EDUCATION2021 BFA, Fine Art Photography, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAMS
2024 Austin School of Film, Austin, TX
2023 The Contemporary Art School at Laguna Gloria, Austin, TX
2022 Houston Center of Photography, Houston, TX
2021 Photographic Center Northwest, Seattle, WA
RESIDENCIES2024 [Forthcoming] Chateau d'Orquevaux, Orquevaux, France
[Forthcoming] Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
2023 The LINE Residency, Big Medium, Austin, TX
2022 Future Front Texas Creator Residency, Austin, TX
LATITUDE, Chicago, IL
AWARDS & GRANTS
2023 Nexus Grant, City of Austin
Critical Mass Top 200 Finalist
Emerging Artist Grant, Chateau d'Orquevaux
The Contemporary Austin Art School at Laguna Gloria Scholarship2022 Fotofilmic Class Scholarship
Puffin Foundation Grant
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, Curators: Alan L. Woods & Ann Alaia Woods
Best in Show, Texas State School of Art and Design Student Juried Exhibition, Curator: Jenny Gheith
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024
[Forthcoming] One Day We Will All Be Golden, Bradbury Art Museum, Jonesboro, AR
Thicker Than Water, shedshows, Austin, TX
2023
One Day We Will All Be Golden, LHUCA, Lubbock, TX
Window Dressing XXVI: When You've Stopped Staring At The Sun , ICOSA, Austin, TX
2022
En Medio de la Nostalgia, Dougherty Arts Center, Austin, TX
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023
Austin Studio Tour, Big Medium, Austin, TX
Red Dot Art Spree, Women & Their Work, Austin, TX
Bodies of Work III, RichesArt Gallery, Austin, TX
Hot, Texas Summer, The Line, Austin, TX
Ancestral Landscapes: Investigating Heritage and Home, Not Real Art, Curator: Kirsten Bengtson-Lykoudis
40th Center Annual, Houston Center of Photography, Houston, TX, Curator: Lisa Volpe
Hold Up Half The Sky, Dallas Center for Photography, Dallas, TX, Curator: Aline Smithson
Lady Parts, Native Gallery, Austin, TX, Curators: Loria Mendoza & Lars Matilda
Invasive Species, ICOSA, Austin, TX, Curators: Alexis Hunter & Jacqueline Overby
Shore Art Excursion [FUSEBOX FESTIVAL], Future Front Texas, Austin, TX
San Marcos Studio Tour, MotherShip Studios, San Marcos, TX
We Learn The Rules In Order To Break Them: The 2nd Quanzhou International Image Biannual, Huaguang Photography Art Museum, Quanzhou, Fujian
Conceptual Photography, D'art Gallery, Denver, CO, Curator: Mark Sink
un(SEEN), The Nesbitt Gallery, Chickasha, OK, Curator: Aunj Braggs
Altered Images, Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO, Juror: Lisa Volpe,
link2022
Pathways, Originator Studios, Austin, TX
Metaphorical Community Gardens, Ani's, Austin, TX
LATITUDE'S 10th Anniversary Exhibition, Chicago Art Department, Chicago, IL, Curator: Asha Iman Veal
Parallax - Women's Photography Exhibition, Gormley Gallery, Baltimore, MD, Curator: Liz Faust
Feminist Biennial, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL, Curator: Ashley Wynn
Emerging Latinx Artists 26: Histories of Transformation/Historias de Transformación, Mexic-Arte Museum, Austin, TX, Curators: Isabel Cervantez, Luisa Fernanda Perez
CCAN 2022: Center for Contemporary Arts National Juried Competition, Center for Contemporary Arts, Abilene, TX, Curator: Colette Copeland
Fuerza, Vesper, Austin, TX
Latino Art WKND: Somos Libres, Distribution Hall, Austin, TX, Curator: Carmen Rangel
Delivery Systems, Joseph Gross Gallery, Tucson, AZ, Curator: Lydia See
Light Conversation: Vol 3, Oregon Contemporary, Portland, OR, Curators: Audra Osborne, Jennifer Timmer Trail, Kristy Hruska, and Marico Fayre (Small Talk Collective)
Collective Rage, Strange Paradise Gallery, Portland, OR, Curators: Audra Osborne, Jennifer Timmer Trail, Kristy Hruska, and Marico Fayre (Small Talk Collective),
link A Sense of Place, Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art, Augusta, GA, Curator: Erin Dunn
Through The Body, Light Art Space, Silver City, NM, Curator: Michael Puff
What Freedom?, Stove Works, Chattanooga, TN Curator: Rainn Jackson
This Reality - Group Show, Subject Matter x Repaint History x Art Girl Rising, Curators: Pegah Kargar, Liezel Strauss and Kitty Dinshaw,
link
Issue 157, Fraction Magazine -14th Anniversary Issue,
link2021
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
s
mall works - BIG TALENT, Las Laguna Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
La Frontera: A New Latinx Lexicon, Humble Arts Foundation, Curator: Erick Guzman,
link2020
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, Curators: 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
2023 Top Five: June 1, 2023, Invasive Species, Glasstire, June 2023,
link Meet Austin's 2023 LINE Residency Artists, Glasstire, January 2023,
link The LINE Residency 2023 Artist Announcement, Big Medium, January 2023,
link2022 Nonprofit hosts accessible digital photo processing and development laboratory in West Town, CBS Chicago, November 2022,
link Life & Work with Chantal Lesley, Voyage Austin Magazine, November 2022,
link Gallery Roundup: Alberto Cavalieri’s Have & Have-Not at Catalyst Contemporary, Parallax at the Gormley Gallery, and Abstraction at the C. Grimaldis Gallery, November 2022,
link New Visionary Magazine: Issue 4,
link One Year Later: The 2021 Lenscratch Student Prize Winners, July 2022,
link Aeonian Magazine Issue #7 Interview, July 2022,
link 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,
link2021 En Medio de la Nostalgia, Deep Red Press, October 2021,
link Codifying a Multifaceted Identity: Chantal Lesley - En Medio de la Nostalgia, PhMuseum, 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 Glasstire: Five-Minute Tours: 2020 Third Coast Biennial at K Space Contemporary, Corpus Christi,
link 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
2023 Fresh From The Studio, Women & Their Work, Austin, TX, September 7, 2023,
link Artist Talk: Metaphorical Community Garden, Ani's, Austin, TX, February 23, 2023
Rooftop Sessions, The Contemporary, Austin, TX, January 18, 2023
2022 Artist Walkthrough: Feminist Biennial, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL, November 5, 2022,
link ELA Conversations #1: Reimaginado Espacios / Reimagining Spaces, Mexic-Arte, Austin, TX, November 2, 2022,
link Live Interview: Chantal Lesley, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL, October 26, 2022,
link Open Show Pasadena/East LA #43: "When the Students Become the Teachers" Hal Banfield, Chantal Lesley, Theo Godmann, Alejandra Moral, Pasadena Photography Arts, October 25, 2022,
link Artist Talk: Chantal Lesley, Julia C. Butridge Gallery, Austin, TX, August 24, 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. September 18, 2020,
link Artist Talk: Chantal Lesley, K Space Contemporary, Corpus Christi, TX September 5, 2020,
link
COLLECTIVES
ICOSA Collective, Austin, TX
EXPERIENCE
2023 Assistant to Chad Rea, Lockhart, TX
2022 Assistant to Emily Eisenhart, Austin, TX
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
