Chloe McEldowney Artist Biography

Chloe McEldowney makes vibrant oil paintings unifying fragments of gardens, memories, and sentiments in unique color palettes, while reflecting on her roles as painter and mother. Her expressive style draws from a decade-long art career spent painting live portraits, teaching printmaking and painting workshops, and working in galleries. 

Chloe received her BFA in 2014 from the University of Dayton, where she was awarded the Excellence in Visual Arts Award by the Association of Independent Colleges & Universities of Ohio. She was also selected as a Dorothy & Bill Yeck College Artist Fellow through the Dayton Art Institute.

After graduating, she moved to various US cities, enjoying residencies and teaching opportunities. She was an intern at the Napa Valley Museum, a resident teaching artist at Prairie Center of the arts in Illinois, and resident artist at Access Arts in Missouri. In 2018, Chloe relocated to Wilmington, Delaware where she was awarded an Artist Fellowship through the Delaware Division of the Arts.

Chloe’s works have been included in exhibitions, galleries, and museums across the US, from Harman Projects in NYC, to Arc Gallery in San Francisco. She’s exhibited her paintings at The Biggs Museum of American Art, Superfine Art Fair, The Dayton Art Institute, The Peoria Riverfront Museum, Anne Irwin Fine Art, Jen Tough Gallery, The Delaware Contemporary, Paradigm Gallery, Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art, and many more. 

Her artistic journey has been highlighted in various publications including New American Paintings, Create Magazine, In Her Studio Magazine, New Visionary Magazine, Clover + Bee Magazine, and others. In 2022, she created work for the book cover of “Daughter of Man” a book of poetry by author LJ Sysko. 

She currently resides in Columbus, OH, where she paints in her plant filled studio.

Statement

After the birth of my son, my painting habits were forced to change. I fought to carve out painting sessions throughout the day, wherein I often found myself painting the same plant over several days, and at different times of day. And I watched the plants move through their tireless process of becoming, more closely than I had before. The sun rose and fell, and leaves and flowers opened and closed. Leaves wilted and drooped, and roots drank, and they stood tall again. Watching these changes in seeming stop-motion, and integrating that flux into my work, gave me a sense of ease as I waded through the constant, sometimes-chaotic changes to my child, my body and my life.

Drawing on these dual roles as an artist and mother, my work explores the oft-conflicting tensions that exist in the worlds of nurturing what you love. Through painting plants and people, I explore the dual needs for solitude and connection. For self-sacrifice and self-care. Growth as excitement for newness and growth as grief for what is lost. Reflecting those dissonances, my paintings are a fragmented, disrupted environment lovingly crafted by an endless pursuit of understanding.