Chad Colby earned his BFA from Indiana University and his MFA from
The American University (Washington, DC).
Upon completion of his MFA degree, Chad relocated to Denver CO to participate in a thriving art scene and begin his career in teaching at the Metropolitan State College of Denver. He exhibited work at Carson-Masuoka Gallery and Studio Aiello, receiving critical acclaim that resulted in a 2002 Colorado Council on the Arts Fellowship.
In 2002 he accepted a position in the Art Department at Fort Lewis College (Durango, CO) where he currently serves as Professor. Solo exhibitions have taken place at Adams State College, The University of Oklahoma, The Harwood Art Center (Albuquerque, NM), The Dairy Center for the Arts (Boulder, CO), and Western New Mexico University. In 2007, he was named F.L.C.’s Featured Scholar and in 2011 was awarded a full year sabbatical that allowed him to pursue a creative project in western Mexico.
Beyond art and academics, he is an avid trail runner and bicyclist. He lives with his wife and family in Durango, where he maintains his studio.

Thematically, his work shows an ongoing fascination with systems and structures that have developed in relationship to our shifting landscape. When the land is used as a resource, or when we strive to make sense of natural phenomena, we rely on systems of visual interpretation. For instance, processes such as geological mapping, predictive meteorology, and stress dynamics in architecture – all of which strive to visualize the chaotic and invisible.