RESUME

Grace Hager (b.1993) is an interdisciplinary painter and ceramic sculptor. She received her Master of Fine Arts in 2023 and Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting with a Minor in Art History in 2015 both from Maine College of Art & Design. Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States, including at CT State Gateway Community College, New Haven, CT; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Portland, ME; Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY; MEPAINTSME; Pamplemousse Gallery, Richmond, VA; The Parsonage, Searsport, ME; George Marshall Store Gallery, York, ME; and Abigail Ogilvy Gallery, Boston, MA; among others. 

She was recently awarded a project grant from the Puffin Foundation and is the recipient of an upcoming Fellowship in Painting at Vermont Studio Center. She has been an artist-in-residence at Wassaic Project, Maine College of Art & Design, Directangle Press, and Running With Scissors. Grace comes from a family of scientists which has influenced her love of the natural world and fascination with how things work. Her best ideas come to her while walking along the beach or while driving country roads. She currently lives and works in Portland, Maine.

➼ Grace Hager

b. 1993, Lives and works in Southern Maine

gracehagerstudio@gmail.com gracehager.com

EDUCATION

2023 Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art, 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

2023

Winter Group Exhibition, The Parsonage, Searsport, Maine

Little Sparks, Lights Out Gallery, Norway, Maine

In Dialogue, George Marshall Store Gallery, York, Maine

MFA Thesis Exhibition, Institute of Contemporary Art, Portland, Maine

2022

Nightmares, Munka Studio, Lewiston, 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

2020

Witchy, Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven, Connecticut 

2019

Whimsy By Nature curated by Debbie Hesse, Perspectives Gallery at the Whitney Center, Hamden, Connecticut

Ear to the Ground curated by Julie Torres, Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven, Connecticut

2017

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 curated by Grace Hager, 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

ART in PLACE (self-isolation) curated by Theo Coulombe, Standard Space, Sharon, Connecticut

Your Color, My Line, Able Baker Contemporary, Portland, Maine

Wonder Working curated by Joy Pepe, Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven, Connecticut

Lines of Site curated by Jeanne Ciravolo & Valerie Garlick, 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 White Columns Curated Artist Registry, White Columns

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

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

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

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

SELECTED 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, Portland, Maine