BIO
Christen Mattix is a visual artist and writer whose work centers on slowness, presence, and the quiet beauty found in ordinary life. Rooted in practices like painting, fiber art, and writing, her work invites pause and reflection—what she calls “breathing spaces.” She often draws from personal ritual and play, creating art that resists urgency and embraces stillness, inefficiency, and wonder.
Born in Seattle and raised in Thailand, Christen’s bicultural upbringing shaped her deep interest in community and connection. She moved to Bellingham, WA at 17 and earned a BFA in painting and art history from Western Washington University, followed by an MFA in painting and film from the San Francisco Art Institute.
Her work has been shown at the Whatcom Museum, Museum of Northwest Art, Bainbridge Island Art Museum, SAM Gallery, and more. She is also the author of Skein, a memoir about a three-year fiber installation that wove together a neighborhood, one stitch at a time. Christen lives and works in Mount Vernon, WA
RESUME
EDUCATION
M.F.A. San Francisco Art Institute, film & painting, 2005
B.F.A. Western Washington University, drawing & painting, cum laude, 2001
RECOGNITION
• Juried into Permanent Collection of Bainbridge Island Art Museum, 2025
• The Dennis Evans and Nancy Mee merit award, Gage Atelier, 2025
• City of Burlington, WA, Mural Commission, 2022
• Public Artist Roster, WA Arts Commission, 2023
• Doing Good Well, artist award for emerging female leaders in the arts, 2012
• Professional Artist Scholarship, Gage Academy, 2011
• Outstanding Graduate Art Award, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, 2001
• First Prize, Beyond Borders International College Art Competition, Bellingham, WA, 2001
• Studio Art Scholarship, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, 2000
SOLO AND TWO-PERSON SHOWS
2025 Rick Leonard Gallery Mount Vernon, WA Breathing Spaces, (duo)
2020 Jansen Art Center Lynden, WA Kaleidoscopic, (solo)
2018 Make.shift Art Space Bellingham, WA Portals, (duo)
2016 Make.shift Art Space Bellingham, WA, Love Loves to Love (duo)
2016 Social Fabric Bellingham, WA, For Longing, (solo)
2011 Corridor Gallery Seattle, WA, Entanglements, (solo)
2008 Shift Studio Seattle, WA, You Are the Landscape (solo)
2007 SPAC Gallery Seattle WA, Blue Sky Paintings, (solo)
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 Bainbridge Island Art Museum Bainbridge Island, WA
2025 Anacortes Art Depot Anacortes, WA
2025 Both Kinds Gallery Vancouver, B.C.
2025 Vashon Center for the Arts Vashon Island, WA
2024 Matzke Fine Art Gallery Camano Island, WA
2024 Meloy Gallery Bellingham, WA
2024 Jansen Art Center Lynden WA
2022 Anacortes Fine Art Show Anacortes, WA
2023 Museum of Northwest Art La Conner, WA
2022 White River Valley Museum Auburn, WA 2022
2021 Smith and Vallee Gallery Edison, WA 2021
2021 Highline Heritage Museum Burien, WA
2021 Vashon Center for the Arts Vashon, WA
2019 North Seattle Community College Seattle WA
2019 Western Washington University Bellingham, WA
2018 Shoreline City Hall Shoreline, WA
2017 Whatcom Museum Bellingham, WA
2017 Shoreline City Hall Shoreline, WA
2017 Smith and Vallee Gallery Edison, WA
2016 St. Mary's College Notre Dame, IN
2016 St. Mary's University Winona, MN
2015 PeaceHealth Hospital Bellingham, WA
2015 Tacoma Art Museum Tacoma, WA
2012 Hedreen Gallery Seattle, WA
2012 Smith-Vallee Gallery Edison, WA
2012 Western Washington University Bellingham, WA
2009 Lookout Gallery Vancouver, Canada
2008 SAM Gallery Seattle, WA
RESIDENCIES
Convening Bodies Artist Residency, Lummi Island, 2025
Grunewald Guild Artist Residency, Planes, WA, January 2019
St. Gertrude Monastery Artist Residency, Cottonwood, ID, 2012
James Washington Artist Residency, honorarium, Seattle, WA, 2010
The Vancouver Project Artist Residency, Vancouver, Canada, 2008
SELECT PUBLICATIONS
Salt of the Earth Calendar, Vancouver, Canada, 2025
“Connections Made Visible,” Seen Journal, 2020, pg. 10-15
“The Gift of Quarantine,” Engage Art Blog, April 16, 2020
“Welcoming the Other,” CIVA Art Blog, August 8, 2019
ARTIST TALKS
Echo Church, Bellingham, WA, 2019
Cooper Lanza Gallery, Bellingham, WA, 2018
Northwest Yarns, Bellingham, WA 2018
Whatcom County Library System (Ferndale, Lynden, Everson, Blaine), 2018
Darrell’s, Shoreline City Arts Program, WA, 2018
Seaport Bookstore, La Conner, WA, 2017
StillPoint Art Center, Bellingham, WA 2018
Peacehealth Chaplaincy Program, Bellingham, WA 2018
Village Books, Bellingham, WA 2017
Museum of Northwest Art, La Conner, WA 2017
Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, 2005, 2013
Trinity Western University, Langley, B.C. Canada, 2011
911 Media Center, Edge Program, Seattle, 2007
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Fairhaven Program, (part-time), Bellingham, WA, 2024-2025
Adjunct Art Professor, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, 2011-2022
Jansen Art Center, Lynden, WA, 2017-2020
Half-Time Assistant Art Professor, Adjunct, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle WA, 2006-2009