about.
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 at Artpace (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), Baltimore Museum of Art (MD), and Studio Museum in Harlem (NY).
photo Credit Grace Roselli, Pandora's BoxX Project
Charlton has co-founded and co-directed several notable initiatives. She co-founded 'sindikit (2016-2022), a collaborative art project that emphasized artist research practices intersecting gender, sexuality, race, and their economies. Through 'sindikit, Charlton co-edited "Out of Place: Artists, Pedagogy, and Purpose" (2021), a compilation of 31 artist essays discussing the relationship between pedagogy and creative practice. In 2022, she co-founded Kindred Creative Residence + Agro-ForesT (CRAFT), a BIPOC LGBTQIA+ led collective in Fletcher, VT, committed to social justice through the integration of farming, art, and activism.
Charlton held a seat on the Maryland State Arts Council for two 3-year terms (2018-23). She is a board member at the Washington Project for the Arts (DC) and Threewalls (IL).
From 2003-2022, she taught full-time at American University (DC) and received tenure in 2009. She served as Chair of the Department of Art from 2015-2018 and was the first Black American tenured, Full Professor in the department.
Charlton is currently a tenured, Full Professor of Art and Director of the School of Art at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.
