Studio Rita Patel
- Michigan
- Mixed Media
Beauty is the foundation of my work. Being in conversation with beauty in my process is how I live an artful life. Through my work I aspire for people to experience beauty and come into relationship with it in their own way. I create work...Read More
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Artist accepts commissions.
STATEMENT
Beauty is the foundation of my work. Being in conversation with beauty in my process is how I live an artful life. Through my work I aspire for people to experience beauty and come into relationship with it in their own way. I create work that is attractive and opens them to imagine something new. I work in a variety of media to give shape to that idea. Through my fine art and surface pattern designs I aim to bring beauty into our spaces and places.
BIO
Rita is a mixed media artist inspired by materials, methods and pattern. She is a builder where the materials work with her to become the art. Her creative process is her personal experience of beauty. She is passionate about her practice and moved to Michigan 14 years ago for studio space and to devote more time to her art. She has exhibited her artwork since 2000. Rita has designed interactive art experiences at the Detroit Institute of Arts, in organizations, and with her public art.
Rita holds a Masters in Public Health from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, with a focus on Quality of Life. She is trained in Conversational Leadership by poet David Whyte and is certified in Enchantivism and the Creative Problem Solving method. Rita also is a CPA, Certified Workplace Wellness Program Manager and Public Health and Well-being Specialist. Rita’s work asks the question: what if we could transform the world by experiencing beauty? This experience is a rich source of inspiration that informs her creative process at the intersection of beauty, well-being (social, emotional and mental) and creativity.
Rita started painting at The Art Students League of New York in 1999 and has been exhibiting her artwork across the US for the past 20 years. Her work focuses on transformation; inspired by her philosophy that as humans our experience of beauty can change our world by changing the way we see ourselves, our situations and our environments. In 2011, she was awarded an Artist in Residence by 365 Days of Print. She designs interactive art experiences at the Detroit Institute of Arts and has served on the Board of Trustees as the Chair of the Exhibition Committee at Paint Creek Center for the Arts, Rochester, MI. Rita’s work is held in the permanent collections of the NYSE, Brooklyn Art Library, and public communities of Detroit. She lives in Michigan with her husband Alan Haras with whom she frequently collaborates.
EXHIBITIONS/SHOWS/COMMISSIONS
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2019 - Public Mural, Lake Orion, MI
2016 - Lake Orion Library, Lake Orion, MI
2015 - Public Mural, Oxford, MI
2009 - DesignHaus, Rochester, MI
2009 - Cary Gallery, Rochester, MI
2007 - Madame X Lounge, New York, NY
2006 - CRAVE Party, Livonia, MI
2004 - Lundbeck Research USA, Inc., Paramus, NJ
2003 - DVDXpress Loft in Chelsea, New York, NY
2003 - Agilent Technologies, Palo Alto & San Jose, California
2001 - K Café, New York, NY
2000 - The Gallery in the Busch Campus Center of Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2020 - Roaring Artist Gallery: Powerful Little Things
2020 - Roaring Artist Gallery: Hear Us Roar
2020 - Pattern Observer Group Exhibit at Blueprint
2020 - Aspen Art Curation: Art for a Cause
2020 - Aspen Art Curation: Summer 2020 Member Showcase | SHIM Art Network | Artsy
2020 - SHIM Art, Artsy.net
2020 - Word as Art at Center for Detroit Arts + Culture, Detroit, MI
2020 - Gilda Snowden Memorial Exhibition at Scarab Club, Detroit, MI
2020 - Spirit of Art at Detroit Unity Church, Detroit, MI
2019 - Aqua Art Miami, Miami, FL
2018 - Paint Creek Center for Art, Rochester, MI
2016 - Members Biennial, Paint Creek Center for the Arts, Rochester, MI
2016 - Mural Painting Process, Orion Library, Lake Orion MI
2016 - Door of Opportunity Tour, North End Studios and Gallery, Detroit, MI
2016 - Door of Opportunity Tour, 4731 Gallery, Detroit, MI
2016 - Door of Opportunity Tour, The Baltimore Gallery, Detroit, MI
2015 - Door of Opportunity Tour, One Mile Gallery, Detroit, MI
2015 - Door of Opportunity Tour, Detroit Public Library, Detroit, MI
2013 - “Do you see the Rabbit?” collages and poetry at Grapids Irrigation ArtPrize, Grand Rapids, MI
2013 - Selected works at Emerge Art Gallery Oxford, MI
2012 - Sketchbook Project: “Idea Framing”, Tour: Brooklyn, NY
2012 - Sketchbook Project: “Idea Framing”, Tour: Chicago, IL
2012 - Sketchbook Project: “Idea Framing”, Tour: Portland, OR
2012 - Sketchbook Project: “Idea Framing”, Tour: Vancouver, Canada
2012 - Sketchbook Project: “Idea Framing”, Tour: Los Angeles, CA
2012 - Sketchbook Project: “Idea Framing”, Tour: San Francisco, CA
2012 - Sketchbook Project: “Idea Framing”, Tour: Philadelphia, PA
2012 - Sketchbook Project: “Idea Framing”, Tour: Atlanta, GA,
2012 - Sketchbook Project: “Idea Framing”, Tour: Winter Park, FL
2012 - Sketchbook Project: “Idea Framing”, Tour: Austin, TX
2011 - Artist in Residence 365 Days of Print, 365daysofprint.com
2010 - Selected works at Red Lotus Yoga, Rochester, MI
2009 - Elephant Treasure Chests at Custer Workplace Interiors at ArtPrize, Grand Rapids, MI
2009 - Selected works at 323 East Art Boutique, Royal Oak, MI
2008 - Selected works at Hamsa Yoga Lake Orion, MI
2008 - Elephant Treasure Chests at Funky Ferndale Art Show, Ferndale, MI
2008 - Art Knows No Borders show benefiting Doctors Without Borders, Los Angeles, CA
2008 - Selected works at 323 East Art Boutique, Royal Oak, MI
2008 - Children’s Hope India Gala at Cipriani Wall Street New York, NY
2008 - Ben Franklin Exhibition III at 555 Gallery, Detroit, MI
2008 - Detroit Artist Market Grosse Pointe Garden Party, Grosse Pointe, MI
2008 - Annual Spring Gallery Stroll downtown Rochester, MI
2008 - Imaginaide Gala benefiting COTS - Coalition of Temporary Shelter, MGM Grand Detroit, MI
2007 - 2009 New York Art Expo at Garvey Schubert Barer Law offices, 100 Wall Street, New York, NY
2007 - 2010 Selected works on loan for viewing at McEntire Pilates Studio, Rochester, MI
2007 - Live Auction at Sensi, to benefit Meir Panim at 111 Fulton Street, New York, NY
2004 - 2005 - Medical Complex Art Show at Cornell University Weill Medical College, New York, NY
2003 - Exhibition at Cornell University Weill Medical College Library in New York, NY
2003 - Exhibition at Starbucks on 630 Lexington Ave (54th St.), New York, NY
2002 - 2003 - Medical Complex Art Show at Cornell University Weill Medical College, New York, NY
2002 - "The Art of Love" silent art auction benefiting SAAAIDS New York, NY
2002 - John Joseph Moakley Courthouse, silent auction benefiting Generations Inc., Boston, MA
2002 - South Asian Women Artists at Novo Terra, silent art auction benefiting Manavi, New Brunswick, NJ
2001 - Swedish Museum silent art auction benefiting Sarah's Circle, Chicago, IL
2001 - Supper Club silent art auction benefiting South Asia Against AIDS Foundation, New York, NY
2001 - South Asian Women Artists at Bose Pacia Modern, silent art auction benefiting Sakhi, New York, NY
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Brooklyn Art Library, NY - call number of 139.23-5
Elephant Treasure Chests at Neighborhood of Brightmoor and Neighborhood Service Organization,Detroit, MI and Hamsa Yoga, Lake Orion, MI
NYSE: Photographs of autumn in Central Park, New York, NY
RESIDENCIES
2011 - Artist in Residence 365 Days of Print
EDUCATION
2018 - Pacifica Graduate Institute, Certificate in Enchantivism
2015 - Institute for Conversational Leadership
1999 - Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Masters of Public Health
1998 - University of Cape Town, Transition in Healthcare System
1998 - The Art Students League of New York
1993 - Rutgers University, School of Business, BS Accounting
AWARDS
PRESS FEATURES AND PUBLICATIONS
2021 - Painterly Tropical Patterns by Pattern Observer
2021 - Heart Designs by Pattern Observer
2020 - Bitten Magazine Issue 2
2020 - Swati Singh - Beauty as a Mindfulness Practice
2020 - Madeline Cecilia Dunn Interview - Navigating Road Blocks as a Creative
2020 - Shim and Aspen Art Curation - Artist Talk
2020 - Pattern Observer - Guest Expert interview
2020 - Annual report - Henry For West Bloomfield Hospital
2019 - Lake Orion Review - Feature about Hamsa Yoga Mural
2017 - Graphic Medicine Conference Publication
2016 - The People We Are (pg 13) The monthly online magazine of The Professional Women's Association (Rome)
2016 - J’aipur Journal - Belonging to Be Art Feature
2015 - Oxford Review - Article about the Barn Mural and flower farmworkers
2009 - Detroiter Magazine - Spotlight on Wellness article (pg 10)
2002 - Cover Art for Hospital for Special Surgery annual publication
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Board of Trustees, Chair of Exhibition Committee, Paint Creek Center for the Arts, Rochester, MI
Art Direction and Graphic Communications (as a consultant), Common Ground, Mission Throttle, Michigan Wellness Council, Henry Ford Health System
Leadership Oakland Cornerstone LOXXXI Leadership Development Retreat “Creativity and Leadership”
TAGS
abstract artist, floral photography, prints, large, midwest painter, muralist, south asian artist, bold colorful art, fabric art, collage artist, wallpaper