Chris Walla grew up on the West Coast, born in Los Angeles and later moving with his family to the North West. Walla’s compulsion to make objects and images was present from a young age. Mr. Walla graduated from Western Washington University with his BFA in sculpture in 1997. In 2000 he moved to attend the University of Wisconsin Madison. Upon the completion of his MFA in 2003, he accepted a position at Minnesota State University Moorhead where he currently works as Professor of Sculpture.
Walla’s work as an artist has evolved over the years from explorations in a variety of media, yet his work continues to circle back to the exploration of materials and form. Much of the content of his work stems from his interest in language, queer culture, politics and poetry. Over the course of his career he has been selected for a McKnight Fellowship in the Visual Arts, recipient of a Legacy Arts and Cultural Heritage Grant, and was nominated for a Joan Mitchell Fellowship. He was chosen as the 2017 Rolland Dille Distinguished Lecturer at Minnesota State University Moorhead. In 2020 Walla received a fully funded Artist Initiative Grant through the Minnesota State Arts Board
Walla’s work has been exhibited nationally with solo and two-person shows featured at the Rourke Art Museum and Plains Art Museum. Recent exhibitions include a solo show at the 2019 Spring/Break Art Show: Fact and Fiction at the United Nations Plaza in Manhattan, New York, Queer Form at Wallplay on Canal Street in Manhattan, NY, and Hoarder’s House at Field Projects located in Chelsea, New York, NY.