photo by Jesse Mullan
Chandler O’Leary was born 50 miles
west of Wall Drug. She is a graduate
of the Rhode Island School of Design
(RISD), with a BFA in Illustration and
a year in Rome under her belt. Her
work includes artist books, illustration,
graphic design, textiles, letterpress
printing, and drawing, to name a
few. Her books and prints are
collected and exhibited internationally.
Chandler lives and creates art
full-time in Tacoma, Washington.
Grant award, Tacoma Artists Initiative Program,
City of Tacoma Arts Commission, 2009-2010
Honorable Mention, Art vs. Design competition
Artists Wanted Collaborative, 2009
Nominee, Greater Tacoma Community Foundation
Foundation of Art Award, 2009
Visiting artist/speaker, Pressing Matters,
Tacoma Art Museum, 2009
Artist-in-Residence, MN Center for
Book Arts (MCBA), 2007
Panel moderator, MCBA Symposium, 2007
Winner, MN Book Award,
fine press category, 2005
Visiting artist/speaker, MN State
University Moorhead, 2003
Adventures in Letterpress, Mark Batty Publisher, 2010 (upcoming)
"Changing the World One Broadside at a Time,"Kiki Magazine,
Volume 3, Issue 3, Spring 2010
Cover/feature illustration, City Arts (Seattle), May 2009
"The Curator's Eye," City Arts (Tacoma), February, April 2009
500 Handmade Books: A Celebration of
Contemporary Book Forms, Lark Books, 2008
There Is No Other Way to Speak,
Minnesota Center for Book Arts, 2005
Distance from the Sun: Thirty Poems from Thirty
Years, Minnesota Center for Book Arts, 2004
Anagram Press, Tacoma, WA
Proprietor, artist/designer/illustrator, 2004 - present
Book Arts Guild, Seattle, WA
Board member, 2009 - present
University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
Artist/printer/co-founder, Collins Press, 2008 – present
King's Books, Tacoma, WA
Rock, Paper, Scissors co-organizer, designer, 2008
Words At Work, Minneapolis, MN
Graphic designer; in-house illustrator, 2004 – 2008
MN Center for Book Arts (MCBA), Minneapolis, MN
Faculty, 2007 – 2008
Member, liaison, Artists’ Co-op, 2006 – 2008
By Design teen program artist mentor, 2005 – 2008
Panel moderator, MCBA Symposium, 2007
Artist-in-Residence, 2007
Letterpress printer, MCBA Winter Book, 2005
Illustrator, Distance from the Sun, 2004
Custom Graphics, Inc., Fargo, ND
Production designer, 2003
MN Center for Book Arts Artist Book Library
MN Historical Society Special Collections, St. Paul, MN
Minneapolis Public Library Special Collections
RISD Artists’ Books Collection, Providence, RI
South Berwick Public Library, South Berwick, ME
School of the Art Institute of Chicago,
Joan Flasch Artist’s Book Collection, Chicago, IL
University of Denver Penrose Library
Special Collections, Denver, CO
University of IA Center for the Book, Iowa City, IA
University of IA Libraries Special Collections,
Iowa City, IA
University of Puget Sound Collins Memorial Library
Special Collections, Tacoma, WA
University of WA Book Arts Collection, Seattle, WA
Walker Art Center Library, Minneapolis, MN
Washington State Library, Olympia, WA
Collins Memorial Library, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
Local Conditions (solo exhibition), 2010 (upcoming)
Rock, Paper, Scissors, 2008
Tempest Lounge, Tacoma, WA
Mnemonic Sampler (solo exhibition), 2010
Burien Arts Gallery, Burien, WA
Page Turner: Contemporary Artist Books, 2010
Pacific Lutheran University Gallery, Tacoma, WA
Mnemonic Sampler (solo exhibition), 2009
National Print Exhibition, 2009
23 Sandy Gallery, Portland, OR
Broadsided!, 2009
Foss Waterway Seaport, Tacoma, WA
Maritime Fest Art Exhibition, 2009
Rosewood Café, Tacoma, WA
Flock (solo exhibition), 2009
Tacoma Contemporary Woolworth Windows, Tacoma, WA
In Her Element (solo installation), 2009
King's Books Wayzgoose, 2009
Tacoma Community College Gallery, Tacoma, WA
Feminist Art, 2009
Traveling Exhibition: The Sketchbook Project, 2009
Art House Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Museum of Contemporary Art, Washington, DC
Chris' Jazz Cafe, Philadelphia, PA
Laconia Gallery, Boston, MA
Antena Gallery, Chicago, IL
Soulard Art Market, St. Louis, MO
3rd Ward Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Museum of Design, Atlanta, GA
Chicago Art Source Gallery, Chicago, IL
MN Center for Book Arts
Front, Back & Between, 2009
Publication event, The Faery Gardener, 2007
New Work: MCBA’s Artists’ Co-op, 2007
Bookish, 2005
Spot-On, 2005
The Rourke Art Gallery & Museum, Moorhead, MN
49th Midwestern, 2008
48th Midwestern, 2007
47th Midwestern, 2006
46th Midwestern, 2005
45th Midwestern, 2004
44th Midwestern, 2003
Amorous Art, 2003
A Woman’s Perspective on Freedom, 2002
Chicago Center for Book & Paper Arts, Chicago, IL
Action/Interaction, 2007
Stevens Square Center for the Arts, Minneapolis, MN
Cultivate, 2007
Metropolitan State University, Minneapolis, MN
Books Abound, 2005
Woods-Gerry Gallery, Providence, RI
Illustration, 2003
Palazzetto Cenci, Rome, Italy
Spring, 2002
I Libri dei Schizzi, 2001
