➼ Grace Hager
Lives and works in Southern Maine gracehagerstudio@gmail.com
EDUCATION
2023 Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art, Painting and Ceramics, Maine College of Art & Design
2015 Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting, Minor in Art History, Maine College of Art & Design
2010 Pre-College Summer Program, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Tufts
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2019 Hot House: Painted Plants, The Keyes Gallery, Willoughby Wallace Mem. Library, Stony Creek, Connecticut
TWO & THREE-PERSON SHOWS
2025 Rachel Gloria Adams, Mary O’Malley, Grace Hager (title TBD), Crumpacker Gallery, St. Paul’s School, Concord,
New Hampshire (Upcoming)
2024 SUNLIGHT & CANDLELIGHT, NewAlliance Foundation Art Gallery, CT State Community College, New Haven,
Connecticut
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 Best in Show, Pamplemousse Gallery, Richmond, Virginia
Down the Rabbit Hole, Lights Out Gallery, Wolf and Harp, Norway, Maine
Tall Shadows in Short Order, Wassaic Project, Wassaic, New York
ArtPM, Buoy Gallery, Kittery, Maine
2023 Winter Group Exhibition, The Parsonage, Searsport, Maine
In Dialogue, George Marshall Store Gallery, York, Maine
Vacationland, 82 Parris, Portland, Maine
MFA Thesis Exhibition, Institute of Contemporary Art, Portland, Maine
2022 Nightmares, Munka Studio, Lewiston, Maine
Accessories curated by McKenna Bishop, Zand Head and Friedman Galleries, MECA&D, Portland, Maine
Possibly Periwinkle, Zand Head and Friedman Galleries, MECA&D, Portland, Maine
Still, Stay Home Gallery, Paris, Tennessee
Bloom!, R.W. Norton Art Gallery, Shreveport, Louisiana
Tiny Pedestal Project, Dream Clinic Project Space, Columbus, Ohio
Fresh Faces 2022, Abigail Ogilvy Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts
A Light in the Dark in collaboration with Michael Tilbury, MECA&D, Portland, Maine
2019 Whimsy By Nature curated by Debbie Hesse, Perspectives Gallery at the Whitney Center, Hamden, Connecticut
Our Bodies Ourselves, Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven, Connecticut
Ear to the Ground curated by Julie Torres, Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven, Connecticut
2017 Nasty Women New Haven, Institute Library, New Haven, Connecticut
Contours & Configurations, The Golden Thread Gallery, West Hartford, Connecticut
2015 Aggregate: BFA Thesis Show, MECA&D, Portland, Maine
Mundanity and Mysticism: Drawing Out the Self, Zand Head Gallery, MECA&D, Portland, Maine
Into the Wild curated by Hilary Irons, Artists at Work Gallery, MECA&D, Portland, Maine
SELECTED ONLINE EXHIBITIONS
2023 MEPAINTSME Open Call 2023 Exhibition, MEPAINTSME, mepaintsme.com
Rituals curated by Annika Earley, SPEEDWELL projects, Portland, Maine
2020 City-Wide Open Studios, Artspace, New Haven, Connecticut
ART in PLACE (self-isolation), Standard Space, Sharon, Connecticut
Your Color, My Line, Able Baker Contemporary, Portland, Maine
Wonder Working curated by Joy Pepe, Digital Grace Online Exhibition, Ely Center of Contemporary Art,
New Haven, Connecticut
Lines of Site curated by Jeanne Ciravolo & Valerie Garlick, Digital Grace Online Exhibition, Ely Center of Contemporary
Art, New Haven, Connecticut
FELLOWSHIPS & RESIDENCIES
2025 Vermont Studio Center Fellowship, April, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT (Upcoming)
2024/25 Ceramic Alumni Exchange-Residency, Maine College of Art & Design, Portland, Maine
2024 August Residency, Wassaic Project, Wassaic, New York
2024 EMERGE Artist-in-Residence, March - July, Running With Scissors, Portland, Maine
2024 January Resident, Directangle Press, Bethlehem, New Hampshire
GRANTS & AWARDS
2024 Puffin Foundation Grant, The Puffin Foundation
2024 Vermont Studio Center Fellowship - Painting, Vermont Studio Center
2024 Residency Award, Wassaic Project
2024 EMERGE Artist-in-Residence, March - July, Running With Scissors, Portland, Maine
2023 Special Mention Finalist, Create! Magazine Issue #41: Juried by Victoria Fry, Visionary Art Collective NYC
2019 Arts Workforce Initiative Apprentice Program, CT Dept. of Cultural and Community Development
INSTITUTIONAL GRANTS & AWARDS
2021 – 2023 Presidential Scholarship, Maine College of Art & Design
2011 – 2015 Presidential Scholarship, Maine College of Art & Design
2014 – 2015 Margaret Coleman Brown Endowed Memorial Scholarship, Maine College of Art & Design
PRESS & PUBLICATIONS
2024 ‘Artists Make Light At Gateway’, New Haven Independent, New Haven Independent
2024 ‘15 Art Shows to See in Upstate New York This Summer’, Hyperallergic, Hyperallergic
2024 Issue 6, Artsin Square Magazine, Artsin Square
2021 ‘State of the Arts’ June Issue, Decor Maine Magazine, Decor Maine
CURATORIAL PROJECTS
2022 Possibly Periwinkle, Zand Head and Friedman Galleries, MECA&D, Portland, Maine
2022 A Light in the Dark in collaboration with Michael Tilbury, MECA&D, Portland, Maine
2021 Raven Wear: Back to Black, MECA&D, Portland, Maine
2017 Celebration of American Crafts, Creative Arts Workshop, New Haven, Connecticut
2015 Aggregate: BFA Thesis Show, MECA&D, Portland, Maine
2015 Mundanity and Mysticism: Drawing Out the Self, Zand Head Gallery, MECA&D, Portland, Maine
UNIVERSITY & TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2024 Guest Critic, Undergraduate Painting Department, Final Critiques Fall 2024, MECA&D, Portland, Maine (Upcoming)
2023 Substitute Faculty, PT-225: Water Media, Painting, MECA&D, Portland, Maine
Guest Critic, Undergraduate Painting Department, Midterm Critiques Spring 2023, MECA&D, Portland, Maine
2022 Teaching Assistant, FN-109: Materiality: Ceramics, Foundations, MECA&D, Portland, Maine
Guest Critic, Undergraduate Painting Department, Midterm and Final Critiques Fall 2022, MECA&D,Portland, Maine
MFA Venice Trip Social Media Contributor, MECA&D, Portland, Maine
Teaching Assistant, FN-110: 4D: Space and Temporality, Foundations, MECA&D, Portland, Maine
2021 Teaching Assistant, PT-333: Painting Beyond the Rectangle, Painting, MECA&D, Portland, Maine
2015 BFA Thesis Curatorial Team, MECA&D, Portland, Maine
2013 - 2014 Teaching Assistant, AH-101: Art History Survey I, Art History, MECA&D, Portland, Maine
ADDITIONAL PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2022 – Present Studio Assistant, Gail Spaien, South Portland, Maine
2023 – Present Ad-hoc Exhibition Turnover/Art Handler, Institute of Contemporary Art, Portland, Maine
2023 – 2024 Ad-hoc Gallery Attendant, Grant Wahlquist Gallery, Portland, Maine
2024 Artist Talk, Tall Shadows in Short Order Closing Reception, Wassaic Project, Wassaic, New York
2024 Studio Assistant (April through July), Kate Bickmore, Rockland, Maine
2024 Community Day Volunteer/Public Workshop Assistant, Surf Point Foundation, York, Maine
2023 Grants and Programs Intern, SPACE Gallery, Portland, Maine
Embroidered Patch Design, SPACE Gallery, Portland, Maine
2021 Walker Evans Programming Advisory Committee Member, Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine
City-Wide Open Studios Data Entry Contractor, Artspace, New Haven, Connecticut
2020 – 2021 Painter/Fabricator, Chester Frame Company, North Madison, Connecticut
2020 City-Wide Open Studios Volunteer, Artspace, New Haven, Connecticut
2019 – 2020 Development and Gallery Assistant, Creative Arts Workshop, New Haven, Connecticut
2019 Artist Talk, Whimsy By Nature Opening Reception, Perspectives Gallery at the Whitney Center, Hamden, Connecticut
2018 – 2019 Gallery Volunteer, Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven, Connecticut
2017 Celebration of American Crafts Intern, Creative Arts Workshop, New Haven, Connecticut
Pottery Studio Intern, Creative Arts Workshop, New Haven, Connecticut
2017 & 2016 Freelance Graphic Designer, AIDS Project New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut
2015 – 2017 Display Team Leader, Urban Outfitters, New Haven, Connecticut
2014 – 2015 Gallery Assistant, Institute of Contemporary Art, MECA&D, Portland, Maine