Jamie Treacy is an Oakland, California-based visual artist, masters swimmer and art educator. He received his BFA at the University of Michigan and his MFA from CCA (both degrees in painting and drawing). He also holds a Single Subject Visual Art credential and a Career Technical Education credential in Arts, Media and Entertainment.
Jamie’s artwork is imbued with themes of eco-justice, speculative fiction and exo-biology. He creates bodies of work in painting, drawing and mixed media that draw imagery from underwater worlds, and his internal landscape.
His philosophy as an art educator is that all youth deserve access to a high-quality arts education, and that creative inquiry is fundamental to solving the most pressing problems of our future.
Jamie is the recipient of the William H. Lewis Watercolor award and an Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation fellowship. Jamie’s work has been exhibited in the California Bay Area, Canada, Mexico and Japan. He currently works for the Oakland Unified School District as an arts instructional coach.
EDUCATION
2006
MFA in Painting and Drawing
California College of the Arts; San Francisco, CA
2002
BFA (Magna cum Laude) in Painting, Drawing and Printmaking
University of Michigan School of Art and Design; Ann Arbor, MI
SELECTED SOLO & 2-PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2025
Primal Alchemy; (with Linda Ellinwood); Gearbox Gallery; Oakland, CA
2024
Creatures of Duality (solo show); Gearbox Gallery; Oakland, CA
2023
Akin; (with Joan Tanner); Gearbox Gallery; Oakland, CA
2021
Unbinding; (with Stephanie Thames); Gearbox Gallery; Oakland, CA
2020
Necessary Mutation; (with John Boychuk); Gearbox Gallery; Oakland, CA
2018
If We Witness Growth; SHOH Gallery, Berkeley, CA
2017
The Unprepared Eye; East Bay Municipal Utility District; Oakland, CA
2015
To Fortify the Forest; Oakstop Gallery; Oakland, CA
STRIATION; Betti Ono Gallery; Oakland, CA
Touching a New Intelligence; Google Headquarters; Mountainview, CA
2014
Unearthed, Unveiled; (with Nicole Dixon) Betti Ono Gallery; Oakland, CA
Touching a New Intelligence; City of Berkeley Customer Service Center Gallery; Berkeley, CA
The Teeming Rift; Addison Street Windows Gallery; Berkeley, CA
2011
Into the Fragility; Rockridge Library Gallery; Oakland, CA
Soft Fracture; Andalu; San Francisco, CA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025
Into the Woods; Gearbox Gallery; Oakland, CA
2024
62nd Stockton Art League Juried Exhibition; The Haggin Museum; Stockton, CA
2023
Pop Whizz; The Floating Gallery; Los Angeles, CA
2022
Queers Don’t Cry; The Clay Clubhouse; Oakland, CA
2020
The DeYoung Open; The DeYoung Museum; San Francisco, CA
Cherish And Resist: A Climate Crisis Exhibition; Merritt College Art Gallery; Oakland, CA
2019
Patterns of Influence; The Painting Center; New York, New York
2018
Abstract Preferences; NIAD Art Center; Richmond, CA
2015
Days of the Dead; Oakland Museum of California; Oakland, CA
2013
Slide; Joyce Gordon Gallery; Oakland, CA
2006
Remnants (Juried show); Cellspace Gallery; San Francisco, CA
Graduate Thesis Exhibit California College of the Arts; San Francisco, CA
Oax-i-fornia (Traveling group show); Biblioteca Henestrosa Oaxaca, Mexico; Consulado General de México; San Francisco, CA
CURATORIAL EXPERIENCE
2023
Akin; Gearbox Gallery; Oakland, CA
(Co-curator with Gearbox Exhibitions Committee)
2013
Slide; Joyce Gordon Gallery; Oakland, CA
(Co-curator with Eric Murphy and Nicole Dixon)
COLLABORATION
2025
Belly of the Whale; Nicole Klaymoon’s Embodiment Project; Z Space; San Francisco, CA
•Painted a series of masks worn by performers
2012
House of Matter; Nicole Klaymoon’s Embodiment Project; Mission Dance Theater; San Francisco, CA
•Created a series of paintings that served as projections in a multimedia dance, spoken word and vocal performance .
PRESS
2025
“Jamie Treacy of Oakland on Life, Lessons & Legacy” Bold Journey Magazine Highlighter Series, December 4, 2025
https://boldjourney.com/jamie-treacy-of-oakland-on-life-lessons-legacy-highlight/
2024
“Meet Jamie Treacy” Canvas Rebel Stories and Insights; April 11, 2024
https://canvasrebel.com/meet-jamie-treacy/
2024
Malcolm Ryder “Inner Space at Gearbox Gallery;” Oakland Art Murmur Art About Town series, April 2024
INNER SPACE AT GEARBOX GALLERY
AWARDS
2006
Center for Art and Public Life Grant
2005
Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant
2002
Faculty Award, University of Michigan
2002
William H. Lewis Watercolor Award