Tessa O'Brien: Clear Blue Morning
Tessa Greene O’Brien was born in mid-coast Maine in 1982, and returned to Maine in 2004, after spending time in Vermont, Oregon, and upstate New York. She graduated from Skidmore College with a B.S. in Fine Art, and recently received her MFA from Maine College of Art. In addition to her studio practice, O’Brien and her husband artist Will Sears manage a studio collective called Base Camp Studios, co-founded the Portland Mural Initiative, a public art project pairing contemporary painters with wall painting opportunities around the state. She also co-owns and paints for Better Letter Hand Painted Signs.
Born 1982, South Thomaston, ME
EDUCATION
2016 MFA Maine College of Art, Portland, ME
2004 BS Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2018 (Upcoming) Elizabeth Moss Galleries, Falmouth, ME
2016 Structures, Friedman Gallery, Maine College of Art, Portland, ME
2015 Farmhouse, Gallery 49, Oxbow Blending & Bottling, Portland, ME
SELECT GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2018 Curious Nature | 2018 Alumni Triennial Exhibition, Institute of Contemporary Art, Portland, ME
Narrative Landscapes, Elizabeth Moss Galleries, Falmouth, ME
Hewnoaks Alumni Show, Gallery 49, Oxbow Blending & Bottling, Portland, ME
2017 Modern Summer, Ocean House Gallery, Cape Elizabeth, ME
Midtoast, Elizabeth Moss Gallery, Falmouth, ME
Selvedge, Able Baker Contemporary, Portland, ME
Joseph A. Fiore Painting Prize Exhibition, Firehouse Center Gallery, Damariscotta, ME
COLLECT: Invitational Summer Art Sale, ICA at Maine College of Art, Portland, ME
Far Away/ Home, Chocolate Church Art Center, Bath, ME
Inside View, Maine Farmland Trust Gallery, Belfast, ME
2016 New Talent, Alpha Gallery, Boston, MA
New England Village: Rethinking Regional Identity, Sarah Orne Jewett House Museum, South Berwick, ME
Hole History Show, Asymmetrical Arts, Rockland, ME
Big Picture, 3S Artspace, Portsmouth, NH
Structures, Friedman Gallery, Maine College of Art, Portland, ME (Solo Show)
2015 Collect, Maine College of Art, Portland, ME
Boston Young Contemporaries, 801 Commonwealth Gallery, Boston, MA
Ode to Letters, Engine, Biddeford, ME
2014 Rumpus Revival, Engine, Biddeford, ME
Collect, Maine College of Art, Portland, ME
Hurricane Island 50th Anniversary Auction, Rockland, ME
2013 Erstwhile, Lot F Gallery, Boston, MA
2004 Thesis Exhibition, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
RESIDENCIES
2018 Open Studio Residency, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, ME
2018 Monson Arts Residency, Monson, ME
2017 Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
2017 Hewnoaks Artist Colony, Lovell, ME
2017 Pace House Residency, Stonington, ME
AWARDS & INVITATIONS
2017 Vermont Studio Center Merit Award, Johnson, VT
2017 Joseph A. Fiore Painting Prize
2016 Commencement Speaker, MFA Program, Maine College of Art
2016 Visiting Artist, Bowdoin College
2015 Visiting Artist, Bowdoin College
2015 Professional Development Grant, Maine College of Art
2015 Community Project Grant, Allagash Brewing Company (Portland Mural Initiative)
2015 Project Grant, Maine Arts Commission (Portland Mural Initiative)
2015 Presidential Scholarship, Maine College of Art
2014 Kindling Fund Grant, SPACE Gallery (Portland Mural Initiative)
2014 Presidential Scholarship, Maine College of Art
PERMANENT COLLECTIONS
2016 Fidelity Investments, Boston, MA
2014 Portland Press Hotel, Portland, ME
RELATED EXPERIENCE
2016- Present Studio Manager, Aaron Stephan Studio, Portland, ME
2018 Co- Owner, Better Letter Hand Painted Signs, Portland, ME
2014 Co- Founder, Portland Mural Initiative, Portland, ME
2003- 2012 Principal Painter, Music Festival Visual Design Team. Northland Design & Construction, Waitsfield, VT