Painter Chrys Riviere-Blalock was born in North Carolina, studied in New York at Parsons The New School for Design and completed her graduate studies in art at Appalachian State University. She has taught in small colleges in western NC for over 25 years, served as an exhibition juror and visiting artist, and has led undergraduate travel/study programs in France. She is a two time grant recipient from the NC Arts Council. Her work was selected for a solo exhibit on view 24/7 at the Hearst Tower Plaza during the 2012 Democratic National Convention and has been exhibited in NY at Artists Space and Prince Street Gallery, in MS at the Lauren Rodger’s Museum, in NC at GreenHill Center, The Bascom, the Hickory Museum of Art, and by the Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission. Artist residencies include Mountain Gateway Museum and the Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts and Sciences, where she is a 2014 and 2023 Hambidge Fellow. Her work was included in the Arts in Embassies 2021 Exhibition at the United States Embassy in Riga, Latvia.