Chris Wolston is an American artist and designer based in New York and Medellín, Colombia. His thoughtfully conceptualized and deliberately fabricated work — which ranges from furniture and lighting to installation and sculpture — rigorously blends traditional techniques and materials with a wry, contemporary realism, arriving at an entirely original postmodern aesthetic imbued with material fluency and environmental urgency.
Education
2013 Fulbright Research Fellow, University of Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia
2009 BFA – Glass, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
2008 Kokrobitey Institute, Accra, Ghana
2005 The Wheeler School, Providence, RI
Exhibitions
2023 “Design Miami” – The Future Perfect, Miami, FL
2023 “Chris Wolston at the Hotel Bel-Air” – Hotel Bel-Air, Los Angeles, CA
2023 “Flower Power” – The Future Perfect, New York, NY
2022 “Design Miami” – The Future Perfect, Miami, FL
2022 “Launch of the Goldwyn House” – The Future Perfect, Los Angeles, CA
2022 “Salon Art + Design” – The Future Perfect, New York, NY
2021 “Design Miami” – The Future Perfect, Miami, FL
2021 “Temperature’s Rising” – The Future Perfect, Los Angeles, CA
2020 “Hola Aspen” – AGO Projects, Aspen, CO
2020 “Qatar Creates” – National Museum of Qatar, Doha, Qatar
2020 “King Dogs Never Grow Old” – Dianne Rosenstein Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2019 “Mess” – The Future Perfect New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco
2019 “Launch of Casa Perfect” – The Future Perfect, New York, NY
2019 “Design Miami” – The Future Perfect, Miami, FL
2019 “Chairs Beyond Right & Wrong” – R & Company, New York, NY
2019 “Forbidden Fruit” – The Future Perfect, Los Angeles, CA
2019 “The Chair” – The Future Perfect, New York, NY
2019 “Neotenic Design” – A/D/O, Brooklyn, NY
2018 “Fendi Peekaboo 10-Year Anniversary” – Fendi, Miami, FL
2018 “Design Miami” – The Future Perfect, Miami, FL
2018 “The Ashtray Show” – Fisher Parrish Gallery, New York, NY
2018 “Design Miami/Basel” – The Future Perfect, Basel, Switzerland
2018 “Lost in Paradise” – The Future Perfect, New York, NY
2017 “Design Miami” – The Future Perfect, Miami, FL
2017 “Design Miami” – Patrick Parrish Gallery, Miami, FL
2017 “The Paperweight Show” – Fisher Parrish Gallery, New York, NY
2017 “Garden Party” – Patrick Parrish Gallery, New York, NY
2017 “Our Flag” – R & Company, New York, NY
2016 “Design Miami” – Patrick Parrish Gallery, Miami, FL
2016 “Bongo Bongo” – Hand Job Gallery, New York, NY
2016 “Collective Design” – The Future Perfect, New York, NY
2016 “The Lamp Show” – 99¢ Plus, New York, NY
2015 “Jonald Dudd” – City Bird Gallery, New York, NY
2015 “Burning Down the House” – OFFSITE, New York, NY
2015 “Creativity Ascertained” – Museum of American Glass, NJ, USA
2015 “Work Release” – Aglow, Norfolk, VA
2014 “El Barro Tiene Voz” – Museo de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
2014 “Dream Motel” – OFFSITE, New York, NY
2014 “NJ350: Through the Lens of Glass” – Museum of American Glass, NJ, USA
2014 “Mediations I” – Paul Bardwell Contemporary Gallery, Medellín, Colombia
2014 “Strange Commonplace” – Plecto Gallery, Medellín, Colombia
2013 “Wax, Wane” – Palacio de la Cultura, Medellín, Colombia
2013 “Bailata Queer” – 43rd (Inter) National Salon of Artists, Medellín, Colombia
2013 “Hope/Angell” – Chazan Gallery, Providence, RI
2013 “You Can Dig a Hole in the Air” – Centro Cultural de la Facultad de Artes, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
2013 “NOHO Next” – Hotel Ahn Nam, New York, NY
2013 “Launching of Espiga Curatorial Project” – Plazarte, Medellín, Colombia
2012 “The House is Set in its Own Park” – Plazarte, Medellin, Colombia
2011 “Cherry Blossom Live Event by Jocelyne Prince” – K-ARTS, Seoul, South Korea
2011 “Jell-O Mold Competition” – The Gowanus Studio Space, Brooklyn, NY
2010 “Sonata de Verre” – Glass Art Association of Canada (GAAC) Conference, Montreal, Canada
2010 “Vaginal Davis is Speaking From the Diaphragm” – PS122, New York, NY
2010 “RISD Glass Department Triennial” – Woods Gerry Gallery, Providence, RI
2009 “Cirque de Verre” – Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH
2009 “Cirque de Verre” – Goggle Works Center for the Arts, Reading, PA
2009 “Cabin Fever 2300°” – Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY
Awards & Residencies
2019 HotelTonight & Sight Unseen Design Residency, New Orleans, LA
2018 Visiting Artist Fellowship – Urban Glass, Brooklyn, NY
2018 Havana Design Workshop, Havana, Cuba
2015 “The American Design Hot List”
2014 “Methods of Production in Colombian Material Culture” Fulbright Research Fellow, Colombia
2013 “New Glass Review 34, Jurors’ Choice Selection” – The Corning Museum of Glass, USA
2012 Creative Glass Center of America Fellow, Millville, NJ
2012 Artist in Residence, Campos de Gutiérrez, Medellin, Colombia
2007 “Experimental Work with Hot Glass” Haystack School of Craft, Deer Isle, ME
Teaching, Lectures, Juries
2020 Guest Lecturer, College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI
2020 Guest Critic, College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI
2020 Guest Critic, Rhode Island School of Design Furniture Department final reviews, Providence, RI
2020 Guest Critic, Rhode Island School of Design Furniture Department midterm reviews, Providence, RI
2019 Guest Critic, Rhode Island School of Design Furniture Department final reviews, Providence, RI
2018 Teacher, Hot Casting And Neon Workshop, Urban Glass, Brooklyn, NY
2018 Visiting Artist, Havana Design Workshop, Havana, Cuba
2017 Panelis, Contemporary Ceramics and Process, Artsy, New York, NY
2016 Visiting Artist, Rhode Island School of Design, Glass Department