Maya Chachava was born in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia where she received a BFA in English Language and Literature. Upon relocating to the USA, Maya earned her second BFA in Fine Arts and Spanish from Central Washington University. She completed her studies in Art with an MFA in Painting from University of Washington in 2000.

Maya’s paintings have been featured in over 60 national and international juried and invitational shows in galleries of Tbilisi, Vienna, Salt Lake City, Boise, New York, Chicago, Seattle, Philadelphia and Miami to name a few. She is a recipient of numerous grants, awards and fellowships including the Dee Research Grant from the University of Utah, GAP Grant from Artist Trust in Seattle and Travel Research Grant from Central Washington University. Maya’s work has been published in New American Paintings, Still Point Quarterly and Studio Visit Magazine among others.

Maya Chachava’s imagery is deeply rooted in her interests in poetry, literature, as well as personal and cultural paradigms. She works with traditional painting media, as well as encaustics, printmaking and digital processes. The sense of nostalgia, misplacement and memory are major themes that emerge along with a continuous quest to find boundaries between reality and imagination.