Contact: cam@ChrisMesarch.com
EXHIBITIONS
2023 “Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice”, Brickbottom Gallery April 21 – May 21
“Friends: A Conversation”, Brickbottom Gallery, Dec. 15 – Jan 12
2022 Open Studios at Brickbottom, November 19 & 20
“From Dark to Light”, Brickbottom Gallery, July 6 – August 20
“Diversified Portfolio”, Brickbottom Gallery, April 17 – May 4
2021 Recycle, Remake, Reimagine, Brickbottom Gallery, April 15 – May 21
2020 “All Small” Brickbottom Gallery, October 29 – November – 22.
2017 “Myth and Magic”, Brickbottom Gallery, April
“Creative Crossroads”, Brickbottom Gallery, March
2016 SOS Show, Somerville Museum, April
2015 Ambassador’s Residence, Reykjavik, Iceland
“Rebellion and Grace”, MassArt, August
“Small, Smaller, Smallest” Brickbottom Gallery, June
2014 “Hot Spot”, Brickbottom Gallery, June
“Intuition”, Brickbottom Gallery, April
2005 “RED”, Cambridge Artist Association, Juried Show, November
Gallery AAB, September
”BIG”, Brickbottom Gallery, July
2004 Brickbottom Open Studios, November
B&C Group, Newton MA, June
Gallery AAB, Boston, MA, May/June
“Under the Influence”, January, Brickbottom Gallery. Somerville, MA,
2003 Exhibit and Auction Brickbottom Artists Building, Somerville, MA,
Open Studios
Gallery AAB, Boston, MA, “Complex Harmony”
2000 Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA, Artcetera
1999 Brickbottom Artists Building, Somerville, MA, Open Studios
1996 AAB, Boston, MA, “Grids and Fans, Following Orders”,
International Place, Boston, MA, Artcetera
1995 Brickbottom Artists Building, Somerville, MA, Open Studios
1992 Brickbottom Artists Building, Somerville, MA, Open Studios
1991 Brickbottom Gallery, Somerville, MA, “Ceramics”
Miriam Perlman Gallery, Chicago, IL,“The Educated Monoprint”
Somerville Arts Council Grant Winners, SomervilleMA
MassArt, Boston, MA “Twenty Years of the Graphic Workshop”,
DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, MA “Maps”
1990 St. Louis Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO ,“East Meets West”,
Japan America Society, Washington, D.C.
Duxbury Art Museum, Duxbury, MA,
Museum of Our Natural Heritage, Lexington, MA
1989 Miriam Perlman Gallery, Chicago, IL,
“The Educated Monoprint” Park Square Armory, Boston, MA,
“Crafts at the Castle”
1987 Fables Gallery, Cambridge, MA,
Duxbury Art Museum, Duxbury, MA, “Paperworks, “87”
Federal Reserve Bank, Boston, MA, “Boston Artists Abroad”
Cooper Hewitt Museum, NYC,“Fans From the Permanent Collection”
Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland OH, “Regional Invitational”
Hopkins Gallery, Wellfleet, MA,
1988 Park Square Armory, Boston, MA, “Crafts at the Castle”
Brickbottom Artists Building, Somerville, MA, Open Studios
1986 Clark Gallery, Lincoln, MA, “About Paper”
Bank of Boston, Boston, MA,“Large Scale Works in Paper”
Fidelity Investments, Boston, MA,
1985 Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, MA,
“A Show of Fan”, Limited Editions, Newton, MA
“The Way of Tea”, Duxbury Art Museum, Duxbury, MA,
Wang Center, Boston, MA, “Essence Beyond Form”
1984 Dento Sangyo Kaikan, Kyoto, Japan, “Meritorious Craftsman Exhibit”
1983 City Hall, Kyoto, Japan, “Annual Fan Painting Exhibit”
Provincetown, MA, “First Annual Prize Exhibit”
1982 Federal Reserve Bank, Boston, MA,,“Fiber From Function to Formalization”
Helen Shlein Gallery, Boston, MA., “Watercolor Salon”
1981 DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, MA, “Three Decades”
GRANTS, AWARDS, PUBLIC COMMISSIONS
2015 Distinguished Alumni Award, MassArt
2006 Commissioned to Produce two 6’ x 10’, and two 40” x 40” paintings for the Westin Hotel, Boston
1994 Commissioned to design four sets of dinnerware for Sasaki International 1993 Commissioned to develop design concepts for Dansk
1990 Somerville Arts Council, Arts Lottery Grant
1986 Bank of Boston, Craft Excellence Award
1984 Commissioned to produce a relief sculpture by the Cambridge Arts Council, a gift to Cambridge’s Sister City in Japan, Yatabe Tsukube
1983 Travel Grant from the Boston-Kyoto Sister City Foundation for travel to Kyoto, Japan to study fanmaking with
Kitaro Teramura, Meritorious Fanmaking Craftsman Designated by the City of Kyoto
1983 Meritorious Fanmaking Craftsman Designated by the City of Kyoto 1983 Third Prize, Annual Fan Painting Exhibit, Kyoto, Japan
COLLECTIONS
Nokia
Wbur
Fidelity Investments, Boston
Putnam Investments,
Boston Pacific Capital Asset Management
Meditech, Framingham
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Peabody & Brown
Eversource
Xerox Corporation, Philadelphia
CFC Partners, Austin
CFC Partners, Boston
Schraffts Building, Boston, MA
Corporate Software, Canton, MA.
Sterling, Drug, Philadelphia
New England Life, Boston
Rucklehouse Corporation, New York CityBank of New England
Bank of America
Quebella, Inc.
Liberty Mutual, Boston
Adesso, Boston
State Street Bank, Boston
Valley Hospital, Ridgewood, NJ
Putnam Investments
Massachusetts General Hospital
Straumann USA, Inc., Andover, MA
Verizon
Westin Hotels
University of Pennsylvania
NStar
My work is also in numerous private collections
PUBLICATIONS
2004 South End News, “Two Artists, One Show/Gallery AAB”, May 6
2002 The Boston Globe, Weekend Arts & Performance Section,
“Study in Complexity”, June 28
2001 The Boston Globe Magazine, “Simply Put”, May 24
2000 The Boston Globe, Living Arts, “Open Studios”, November 11
1996 The Boston Globe, Living Arts, “Creative Solutions”, November 11
1994 Art New England, Elegant Solutions Column, “Dishing It Out”, August/September
1992 Print Magazine, “A Passionate Response”, Summer Issue”
1991 Boston Globe, Calendar Section, Critic’s Choice, Feb. 14
Boston Globe, page 35, “Poster Art Leaves Lasting Impression”, Jan. 30
1990 Boston Globe, Southweekly Section, “A Festive Finale to Tribute”, Oct. 28
1988 Boston Globe, Calendar Section, Critic’s Tip, Nov. 17
1987 Boston Globe, At Home, page 97, Dec. 11
St. Louis Post Dispatch, Sept 2, p11
Bellevue News Democrat, St. Louis, Lifestyle, Aug. 21
Prelude Magazine, “Fanfare”, Dec.
1986 Boston Globe, Living Section, “Crème de la Crème”, Nov. 28
St. Louis Post Dispatch, Section C, p. 1, Aug 28
Bellevue News Democrat, St. Louis, Lifestyle, P. 1, Aug 21 Boston Globe, Calendar Section,
“Boston Fanmaker Masters Japanese Art”, June 19
1984 New England Monthly, “Fanmaster”, December|
1983 Boston Globe, “Fan Wafts Whirlwind into Artist’s Life”, Sept
1982 Fiberarts, Fans and Paper Issue, July
1980 Fiberarts, “Throbbing Needles, II’, March/April
1980 Fiberarts Design Book
ChrisMesarch.com 
I have acquired a fan signed by you, with orange, gold and black koi on a green background, dated 1986. It is a magnificent piece, and I would like to know more about it. Can you tell me where your artwork is sold, and where it might have been acquired originally? I feel very lucky to have found it in an auction located in Virginia. Thank you for your help.
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Hello, Susan, Thank you for your heartwarming message! Interesting that that fan ended up in Virginia. I live in Somerville, MA, part of Boston. Back in the ’80s I was demonstrating Japanese fanmaking at various Japanese festivals in different states. The one closes to Virginia was in Memphis. There was a big annual one in St. Louis also. The fan you have is one of a series that I produced for festivals. The background may be handpainted or silkscreened, or a combination. The fish are silkscreened. I studied fanmaking in Japan, and at festivals I would be making fans all day, so I had to produce editions of different designs, so I would have enough to make, because most of the fans I made were one of a kind, and labor intensive. Now, I seldom make fans, but I make paintings. A lot of my work is on my website, but I have to add my recent work. I have one show coming up in October at the Brickbottom Gallery in Somerville, and possibly one downtown in Boston, also in October. Both are group shows. Now, I am only showing locally, but have open studio twice a year. I am so pleased you like my fans. Where are you located? Best, Chris
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Thanks for your message! I’m living in Harrisonburg, retired from a job at James Madison University. There is a wonderful auction house near my home that primarily handles estate sales. I don’t know the name of the person whose property was sold, but as I said, I felt extremely fortunate to find your work. I have looked at the website and admire the pieces you have created. I doubt I will be able to attend the shows in Boston, but you never know. Is there a gallery or shop where any of your work is for sale? Thanks again for responding.
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I do appreciate your interest. I’m sorry, there are no galleries at this time, I am only selling directly from my studio. I do ship work to people who buy something from me that they have seen online, but I admit, there isn’t a lot to see at this point. Are you thinking of fans or paintings or drawings?
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I’m not sure I can afford the wonderful pieces you make! I was just incredibly lucky to stumble onto the auction, and am now a big fan of your work. If I make it to Boston I will certainly try to come to one of your shows. When is your next open gallery show?
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You have certainly started of my new year on a very positive note, thank you! Because there is no gallery involved, my prices aren’t that high, galleries take 50%, doubling the price. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be happy to be in the right gallery, but I don’t really have time to pursue any. However, I don’t know what will happen after the shows in October, because I will have to raise the prices to account for any commission for the venues, if there are sales. The two dates for the open studios are: Brickbottom Open Studios, November 21 and 22, and Somerville Open Studios, May 3 and 4. I will post notices on Instagram and my website.
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Here is the fan I purchased.
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Thanks, Susan, If there is an attachment I can’t see it.
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