GEORGIE CHALKER ART

Profile pic of artist on the beach in Penzance

Exhibitions

Memberships

    • Princeton Art Museum, 2025
    • Artists of Bordentown, 2024

Statement

Human emotions: joy, sorrow, love, laughter, and all the nuances, are the themes within my art. We often oscillate through these emotions, particularly in these difficult times. It’s important to remember that we are human and the battle now is against AI and the machine. We feel it everyday on a dehumanizing level. Pablo Picasso stated that “it takes a long time to become young.” I am at that point in my life, and want to rely on my foundation – my humanism. Working with my hands, seeing with my eyes, interpreting with my mind’s vision brings well being. My current training with Johanna Furst’s studio in Lambertville, NJ, has given me confidence to fulfill a lifelong dream of being a full-time painter.

My knowledge of art started early when I attended Saturday morning lectures at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) in high school. My family could not afford attendance at the Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA), yet I did attend the Art Institute of Philadelphia which was half-way between the PAFA galleries and the PMA. This gave me a substantial career in the arts and I have been very grateful for the life it has given me. I have been everything from a graphic designer, web developer, videographer to a communications manager.

My travels always begin with museums. My career has granted me the opportunity to visit some of the world’s most foundational museums. The MOMA, the PMA, and the Boston Museum of Art are my American favorites. Yet, the British Museum, the Tate, as well as Victoria and Albert museums in London are best for historical research of Western culture. Furthermore, fondly I reminisce on my time in Amsterdam. Paintings at the Rijks and the Mauritshuis museums continue to inspire me. Literally, tears rolled down my cheeks when I first witnessed Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” (c. 1665, Mauritshuis). I reflected on these Dutch masters as I paint. My knowledge of Audubon’s’ book of procreate colors tends to my desire to keep color true to nature.

Another major influence is Mark Rothko. In 1998, my husband and I visited the MOMA on one of our first dates. Not only did I fall in love with my newfound boyfriend, but also with how authentic the Rothko’s were. Warm sunsets, cheerful landscapes, and gloomy feelings conveyed his brilliance. He also sets the viewers stage by giving one the freedom to use their own imagination. If you are not familiar, his paintings are devoid of anything resembling reality, yet take you through a journey of emotions simply with color.

Lastly, my inspirational mainstay comes from women. Georgia O’Keefe has always been with me, yet there have been new discoveries: Hilma af Klint’s color and form (Guggenheim, 2019) and Nicole Eisenman (Art Institute of Chicago, 2025). Eisenman adds the aspect of humor, particularly in some of her Trump commentaries. Klint’s works laid dormant in a Swedish attic for 20 years simply because she thought “the world was not ready for abstract art.” (Friday Night Club. Richman, Rose, Lundberg 2023). She has changed the course of art history and had Kandinsky beat by five years as the first abstract artist in the history of art.  I am intrigued that she gathered with a group of four other women for seances on Friday nights, where they would paint huge gauche paintings on the floor and create mystical magic. The ideal of painting communally enriches the human heart. I would like to continue working with other artists as a collective.

Looking up at the facade of the PMA
The back entrance to the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA).

Biography

Georgie Chalker was born in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, PA. Her interest in art started by working with her father’s drafting tools. She was fortunate to start art classes in high school and attended Saturday art lectures at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA). She was fascinated by the richness of history and culture on display within the wings of this world-renowned art museum. Her portfolio began to grow by this influence. She fantasized about a career in the heart of the city, and her father advised her to attend an art college with career options. She decided on a degree in graphic design, taught by professional inter-city designers and artists. Chalker’s journey as a multimedia artist has led her down many paths in print, web, and design. The digital world sustained Chalker for over 46 years. She is still interested in photography. Yet, it has been a dream to paint again. In 2023, Chalker started oil painting classes at Johanna Furst Art Studio in Lambertville, NJ. She will continue to take her art classes, as she gains a sense of community while painting with other students.

Education


Art Institute of Philadelphia (AIP): Graphic design was her major (AA). 1980
Penn State University: Web Masters Certification 1996
Villanova University: Marketing Certification 1997
Southern University of New York (SUNY): Visual Communications (BA) 2010
Johanna Furst Art Studio: Oil Painting 2023-present

In the late 70s, Chalker entered the Art Institute of Philadelphia (AIP), blacks away from the PMA on parkway in Center City. Graphic design was her major (AA). Her studies also included an academic foundation, photography, illustration, typography, and various other art studies.

It was an exciting atmosphere, for the classes were small and the teachers were working artists. Her mentors were successful artists in the area: painters Fred Danzinger, Harvey Silverman, photographers Bernie Cleff, and the talented illustrator, Charlie Ellis. Many instructors also augmented their salaries by teaching at Philadelphia’s prestigious institutions, including Moore College of Art, the Academy of Fine Arts, and the then known Philadelphia College of Arts.

In the 90s, while graphic design became increasingly digital. Working for a Dutch company, De Lage Landen, in Wayne, PA, Georgie obtained a web masters’ certification from Penn State and a “marketing on the web” certification from Villanova University in order to develop her first website.

Though, this was not the end of her studies. Georgie went back to school to obtain a (BA) in visual communications, with a minor in film analysis from Empire State, SUNY in her mid fifties. She interned at the University of the Arts, with Prof. Whit MacLaughlin’s drama course, as a stage archivists, videographer, and critic. This culminated into a production called of “Fatebook,” a play that started on social media and ended on stage at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. In 2007, she was one of one hundred videographers for in the street production of “The Principles of Uncertainty.” Her graduating internship was at the Havana Film Festival in New York in 2010.

In 2023, Chalker started oil painting classes with Johanna Furst Studio. Furst is a prominant artists and philanthropist in Lambertville, New Jersey. Chalker intends to continue to work in the studio long after her retirement.