Rachel Heberling
ROY Alum, 2010
I moved to Columbus in 2009 to pursue my MFA in printmaking at Ohio State. At the time, I had grown weary of shipping work to national and international juried exhibitions, and I wasn’t having much success with local commercial galleries either. When I responded to ROY G BIV's call for entries, I was thrilled to be selected for a two-person exhibition with Krista Birnbaum in 2010.
That exhibition remains one of the best experiences I've had as an artist. It was the most work I'd ever sold at an opening - or even in a single exhibition. More importantly, it gave me a tremendous boost in confidence, making me feel that I had finally found my niche and clientele - people that truly connected with my art.
The timing couldn't have been better. I was in the middle of graduate school, a period that often pushes artists to question every aspect of their practice. The encouragement I received from the exhibition came at exactly the right moment. The opening was packed and felt more like a celebration than a gallery reception. I sold five or six pieces that evening, which was incredibly validating - and, as a graduate student, the extra income certainly didn't hurt.
What made ROY G BIV so special was its commitment to emerging artists. It's a nonprofit gallery with the energy, reputation, and collector base of a commercial space, creating opportunities that are rare to find. I haven't encountered another organization quite like it.
I'm grateful to have been part of ROY G BIV's history, and I'm excited to see the gallery continue to champion emerging artists for years to come.
https://www.rachel-printmaking.com/
Bio. Rachel Heberling is currently the Program Manager of Native Arts Professional Development (NAPD) at First Peoples Fund. In this role she strengthens the Indigenous Arts Ecology by cultivating partnerships with Native Community Development Financial Institutions (NCDFIs) and arts and culture organizations to host NAPD training sessions.
With over a decade of experience in the arts nonprofit sector, Rachel has served as an artist, executive, and program manager. Before joining First Peoples Fund, she was the Executive Director of Frontline Arts, where she previously held the role of Studio and Program Manager.
Rachel previously worked as an Assistant Client Manager in package design at Haney, managing Procter & Gamble accounts in Cincinnati, OH, while also teaching printmaking at Tiger Lily Press.
Her work has been exhibited internationally at venues including the National Arts Club (NYC), King St. Stephen Museum (Hungary), and The Corcoran Gallery (DC). Growing up in a log home near Pennsylvania’s mining regions, she draws inspiration from obsolete technology, abandoned industry, and vintage advertisements.