Chris Walla

Chris Walla grew up on the West Coast, born in Los Angeles and later moving with his family to the Northwest. The compulsion to make objects and images was present from a young age. Walla graduated from Western Washington University with his B.F.A in sculpture in 1997. After graduation he maintained a studio and lived in Bellingham, Washington, until 2000 when he moved to Madison to attend the University of Wisconsin. After completing his M.F.A in sculpture in 2003, he accepted a position at Minnesota State University Moorhead where he currently works as Professor of Sculpture. In 2006 he was selected as a McKnight Fellow and has had numerous exhibitions including an installation titled Wait & See at the Plains Art Museum. In 2015 he was nominated for a Joan Mitchell Fellowship. In 2016 he was selected as The Rolland Dille Distinguished Lecturer at Minnesota State University Moorhead. Walla currently has pieces in the permanent collection at the Plains Art Museum in Fargo, ND and at the Wells Fargo Conference Center in Minneapolis, MN. Past exhibitions include Don’t Piss On Me and Tell Me Its Raining at Apex Art, New York, NY. a solo installation at Fraction Workspace in Chicago, IL, and, participated exhibitions such as InWords at the University Gallery in Newark, DE, and a two-person exhibition at the Rourke Art Museum in Moorhead, Minnesota.