JESSIE COLES
BIO
Jessie Coles was born in NYC but spent most of her childhood in Africa and the Middle East, where her father was posted in the Foreign Service.
Coles received a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Studio Art from the University of Virginia, where she studied painting with Philip Geiger. She continued her study of painting and drawing at the Corcoran School of Art & Design in Washington, D.C., and Piedmont Virginia Community College.
Coles’ work is included in numerous private and public collections, including the Inova Schar Cancer Institute, Woodburn, VA; University of Virginia Hospital, Sentera/Martha Jefferson Hospital, and Boar’s Head Resort in Charlottesville, VA. She is the recipient of a Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) Professional Fellowship for 2026-2027, a two-time semi-finalist for the Bethesda Painting Award, and a recipient of the Blue Morning Foundation purchase award.
She has taught painting and drawing privately and at Crozet Arts, Crozet, VA; Beverly Street Studio School, Staunton, VA; McGuffey Art Center, Charlottesville, VA; and Nimrod Hall Art Center, Warm Springs, VA.
Jessie Coles is represented by Les Yeux du Monde Gallery and is a recipient of a 2026–2027 Virginia Museum of Fine Art (VMFA)(opens in new tab) Professional (opens in new tab)Fellowship Grant.
Jessie Coles lives and works in Charlottesville, VA.
CV
SELECTED SOLO & TWO-PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2025 Color in Conversation; Jessie Coles and Jackie Watson, Les Yeux du Monde, Charlottesville, VA
2018 Jessie Coles: New Paintings, Les Yeux du Monde, Charlottesville, VA
2014 New Views: Coles and McAlister, Les Yeux du Monde, Charlottesville, VA
2012 Martha Jefferson Hospital, Charlottesville, VA
2011 National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
2010 Tableaux Vivants, Chroma Projects, Charlottesville, VA
2009 Jessie Coles: Day Dream, McGuffey Art Center, Charlottesville, VA
2007 Jessie Coles, New Work, McGuffey Art Center, Charlottesville, VA
2005 Solo Show, C&O Gallery, Charlottesville, VA
2004 Cancer Center Gallery, UVA Hospital, Charlottesville, VA
EXHIBITIONS
2024 Small Works, Les Yeux du Monde, Charlottesville, VA
2022 Zeuxis: In, On, Of Paper, THERE, New York, NY
2021 Pandemonium: Postcards from the Edge, Chroma Projects, Charlottesville, VA
2020 Art Unlocked, McGuffey Art Center, Charlottesville, VA Purchase Award
2020 National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
2019 She’s in Monochrome, Second Street Gallery, Charlottesville, VA
2017 9th Annual Juried Competition, Juror: Stuart Shils, Prince St. Gallery, New York, NY
2017 #fab4painters, Art on the Trax, Crozet, VA
2016 Summer Light, Les Yeux Du Monde, Charlottesville, VA
2016 Pandion Gallery, Fishers Island, NY
2015 Carpe Diem, Charlottesville, VA
2014 Cabell Gallery, Nimrod Faculty Show, Lexington, VA
2013 LYdM Turns Twenty, Les Yeux du Monde, Charlottesville, VA
2013 Faculty Show, Beverly Street Studio School, Staunton, VA
2013 Paintings: Karen Blair, Priscilla Whitlock, Jessie Coles, McGuffey, Charlottesville, VA
2013 Academy of Fine Arts, Lynchburg, VA
2012 Martha Jefferson Hospital, Charlottesville, VA
2012 Design House 2012, Charlottesville, VA
2012 Muses: Art for Living, Charlottesville, VA
2011 Pandion Gallery, Fishers Island, NY
2011 Gallery Piquel, New Hope, PA
2008 VMRC, Juried Show, Harrisonburg, VA
2007 Nelson Fine Arts Gallery, Juried Show, Lexington, VA. Merit Award
2007 Chica’s Choice, Jessie Coles, Liz Geiger, and Bill White, Piedmont Virginia Community College, Charlottesville, VA
2006 VMRC, Juried Show, Harrisonburg, VA, Honorable Mention
2004 C2D Competition, Juror: Dean Dass, McGuffey Art Center, Charlottesville, VA, Best in Show
2002 Paintings of the Piedmont, Juried Show, Charlottesville, VA
2002 Best of PVCC, Dickerson Gallery, Charlottesville, VA
2001 Cafe Bocce, Scottsville, VA
AWARDS AND COLLECTIONS
Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Professional Fellowship 2026–2027
Bethesda Painting Award Semi-Finalist, 2010 and 2011, Jurors: Phil Geiger and Mark Kames
Boar’s Head Inn & Resort, Charlottesville, VA
Free Union Country School, Free Union, VA
Inova Schar Cancer Institute, Falls Church, VA
Martha Jefferson Hospital, Charlottesville, VA
Piedmont Virginia Community College, Charlottesville, VA
University of Virginia Hospital, Charlottesville, VA
EDUCATION
B.A. Studio Art, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 1986
Corcoran School of Art, Washington, DC, 1987-89
Piedmont Virginia Community College, Charlottesville, VA, 1995-97