Biography
CV
Barbara Rachko was born in 1953 in Paterson, New Jersey, and currently resides in New York City. She is a contemporary painter specializing in large pastel-on-sandpaper paintings that depict Bolivian Carnival masks. Rachko has dedicated 38 years to revolutionizing pastel as a fine artmedium, emphasizing its merits through her artworks and her influential blog, “Barbara Rachko’s Colored Dust,” which boasts 140,000 subscribers and growing. She is also the subject of the acclaimed documentary “Barbara Rachko: True Grit,” available on YouTube.
Rachko’s artistic practice centers on exploring the vibrant cultural heritage of Bolivian Carnival masks, alongside Mexican and Guatemalan folk art. Her meticulous attention to detail and deep cultural insight characterizes her work, evident in notable series such as “Bolivianos,” “BlackPaintings,” and “Domestic Threats.” In 2023, Rachko was featured in a documentary that premiered at the Newport Beach Film Fe stival, where it garnered both the Audience Award and Best in Category Award, underscoring her significant contribution to contemporary art. A few years ago, Barbara published an ebook capturing her inspiring story – “From Pilot to Painter”.
Barbara Rachko’s artworks have been showcased in prestigious solo exhibitions at venues including the Joy Pratt Markham Gallery at Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, AR, Louise Jones Brown Gallery at Duke University in Durham, NC, Olin Gallery in Roanoke, VA, La Mama La Galleria in New York, NY, and a two-artist exhibition at Brewster Arts Ltd. in New York, NY. She received formal training in photography at the International Center of Photography in New York, NY, from 2002 to 2007, and pursued drawing and pastel studies part-time at the Art League School in Alexandria, VA, from 1986 to 1992. Rachko’s artworks are held in numerous private collections internationall y, and she has participated in prestigious art fairs worldwide, including Moon Art Fair in Hamburg, Vasteras International Art Fair in Sweden, Art Busan in Korea, Affordable Art Fair in Hong Kong, and Art Basel in Miami, FL. Her artistic achievements continue to resonate globally, affirming her position as a pioneering figure in contemporary pastel painting.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2018 Invitational Exhibition, NYC Phoenix Art, New York, NY, USA (online)
Fusion Art, Palm Springs, CA, USA (online)
2011 The Black Paintings, Gallery Gray, Minneapolis, MN, USA
2009 Gods and Monsters, HP Garcia Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2008 Out of the Black(Pastel Paintings and Photographs), New Art Center (curated by Barbara MacAdam, deputy editor, ARTnews), New York, NY, USA
Art at First, New York, NY, USA
2007 Gods and Monsters, Capital One Art Gallery, McLean, VA, USA
2006 Azarian McCullough Art Gallery, St. Thomas Aquinas College, Sparkill, NY, USA
2005 Blackstone River Gallery, Woonsocket, RI, USA
Artspace, Richmond, VA, USA
Scenes, Crown Center Gallery (Loyola University), Chicago, IL, USA
Domestic Threats, Joy Pratt Markham Gallery (The Walton Arts Center), Fayetteville, AR, USA
2004 Edward Williams Gallery, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Hackensack, NJ, USA
Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center, Cambridge, MA, USA
Domestic Threats, Louise Jones Brown Gallery, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
2001 Olin Gallery, Roanoke College, Salem, VA, USA
2000 La MaMa La Galleria, New York, NY, USA
1999 There is No Place Like Home, Park Avenue Atrium (curated by Leah Poller, director, Art Alliance), New York,NY, USA
1998 Broadway Windows, New York, NY, USA
There is No Place like Home, Mercedes-Benz Manhattan ArtSpace (curated by Leah Poller), New York, NY,USA
Through the Window, Doll-Anstadt Gallery, Burlington, VT, USA
1996 Monkey Business, Brewster Arts Ltd. (two-person exhibition), New York, NY, USA
479 Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Watchung Art Center, Watchung, NJ, USA
School 33 Art Center, Baltimore, MD, USA
1995 Manhattanville College, Purchase, NY, USA
Howard County Community College, Columbia, MD, USA
1993 Cunneen-Hackett Art Gallery, Poughkeepsie, NY, USA
Torpedo Factory Art Center, Alexandria, VA, USA
1992 Capitol Hill Art League, Washington, DC, USA
Selected Group Exhibitions
2023 Winter Wonderland, bG Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, USA
Moon Art Fair Hamburg, The Westin Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Artists for the Cure (Breast Cancer Awareness Event), 114 West 71st Arts, New York, NY, USA
Mythos, The Gallery Space, Rahway, NJ, USA
2022 The In-Between Space, Riverfront Art Gallery, Yonkers, NY, USA
Stand with Ukraine, One Art Space Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2021 An Imaginal Affair, Artamour, New Delhi, India (online)
Vasteras International Art Fair, Galleri SoHo, Vasteras, Sweden
NYC Art Movement, Triangle Loft, New York, NY, USA
2020 Winter Salon Online Exhibition, Galleri SoHo, Västerås, Sweden
Lucid Dreaming, Outlander Gallery, Jersey City, NJ, USA
First International Online Exhibition, Galleri SoHo, Västerås, Sweden
Peacock, Sacrosanct Gallery, Naples, FL, USA (online)
23rd Annual Community Art Jam, Hudson Guild, New York, NY, USA (online)
2019 Worlds Unseen & Seen, Westbeth Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Women Celebrating Creativity, National association of Women Artists, New York, NY, USA
2018 Art Without Borders, Madison, NH, USA
Mystical Forces, Salomon Arts, New York, NY, USA
Emillions, Naples, FL, USA
2017 Blk Clok, Art Basel, Reach Brickell City Centre, Miami, FL, USA
Miami River Art Fair (represented by Dr. Barbara Aust-Wegemund, Art Historian), Miami, FL, USA
Art Below Regent’s Park, London, England
Le Dame Gallery, London, England
ARTROOMS, Melia White House Hotel, Regent’s Park, London, England
2016 Old Truman Brewery, London, England
Art Below and Gallery Orange, New Orleans, LA, USA
2015 Art Busan, Korea, represented by Space 776, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Affordable Art fair, Hong Kong (represented by Space 776), Brooklyn, NY, USA
James Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Betty Dare Art Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA
2014 Aqua Art Miami, The Aqua Hotel (represented by Space 776), Miami Beach, FL, USA
Perkins Center for the Arts (three-person exhibition), Collingswood, NJ, USA
Age of Innocence, Studio 5404, Massapequa, NY, USA
James Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Betty Dare Art Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA
2013 James Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Betty Dare Art Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA
2012 Art to the Point (selected by Donald Sultan), Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, NY, USA
MUSECPMI, New York, NY, USA
James Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Betty Dare Art Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA
Longstreth Goldberg, Naples, FL, USA
2011 Inaugural Preview Exhibition, The New York Center of Photography and the Moving Image, New York, NY, USA
James Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Longstreth Goldberg, Naples, FL, USA
Bazar, Betty Dare Art Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA
2010 HP Garcia Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Pulp Friction, James Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Past Forward (four-person show), Target Gallery, Torpedo Factory Art Center, Alexandria, VA, USA
Art, Betty Dare Art Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA
Longstreth Goldberg, Naples, FL, USA
2009 Joyce Dutka Arts Foundation award winners, Hollis Taggart Galleries, New York, NY, USA
Rogue Space, New York, NY, USA
Artexpo, Jacob Javits Convention Center, New York, NY; Artisan Direct, Pittsford, NY, USA
Longstreth Goldberg, Naples, FL, USA
Hudson Gallery, Sylvania, OH, USA
ArtHaus, San Francisco, CA, USA
1212 Gallery, Burlingame, CA, USA
2008 Timeless: The Art of Drawing, Morris Museum, Morristown, NJ, USA
Cancer, New Art Center, New York, NY, USA
Modes of Expression, Deloitte and Touche, New York, NY, USA
ReynoldsWolfe, Center 44, New York, NY, USA
Animals in Your Kingdom, Micro Museum, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Visual Arts Center of New Jersey (curated by Carter Foster, curator, department of drawings), Whitney Museum of American Art, Summit, NJ, New York, NY, USA
Artwell Gallery, Torrington, CT, USA
Hudson Gallery, Sylvania, OH, USA
Hefton-Page Fine Art, Blue Ridge, GA, USA
Longstreth Goldberg, Naples, FL, USA
Figurative Works by Gallery and Guest Artists, Outward Appearances, and About Face, ArtHaus, San Francisco, CA, USA
1212 Gallery, Burlingame, CA, USA
2007 Zen of the Artist, Broome Street Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Red, Bergdorf Goodman (NY curated by Serge Gregorian, director, Contemporary Artists Network), New York, NY, USA
SCAN, New Art Center, New York, NY, USA
Clear Blue Tuesday (movie directed by Elizabeth Lucas; the artist and her work appeared in a gallery opening scene)
Free Play, Islip Art Museum, East Islip, NY, USA
Hudson Gallery, Sylvania, OH, USA
Hefton-Page Fine Art, Blue Ridge, GA, USA
Longstreth Goldberg, Naples, FL, USA
Masters’ Mystery Art Show, Ritz Carlton, Art Basel Miami Beach, FL, USA
five x seven, Arthouse at the Jones Center, Austin, TX and five x seven – on the road: Houston, Gallery Sonja Roesch, Houston, TX, USA
ArtHaus, San Francisco, CA, USA
1212 Gallery, Burlingame, CA, USA
2006 Between Body and Object, Anthony Giordano Gallery (curated by Pam Brown, gallery director), Dowling College, Oakdale, NY, USA
Postcards from the Edge, Sikkema, Jenkins, New York, NY, USA
Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, Summit, NJ, USA
Hudson Gallery, Sylvania, OH, USA
Hefton-Page Fine Art, Blue Ridge, GA, USA
Longstreth Goldberg, Naples, FL, USA
Masters’ Mystery Art Show, Ritz Carlton, Art Basel Miami Beach, FL, USA
Big Fun, About Face, ArtHaus, San Francisco, CA, USA
1212 Gallery, Burlingame, CA, USA
2005 Room With a View Gallery, Shanghai, China
Night of a Thousand Drawings, Artists Space, New York, NY, USA
Multiple Oneness, Park-Art Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Au Courant (three-person show), A Space Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Gallery Z, Providence, RI, USA
Hudson Gallery, Sylvania, OH, USA
Art Struck Gallery, Blue Ridge, GA, USA
Longstreth and Goldberg, Naples, FL, USA
Margeaux Kurtie Modern Art, Madrid, NM, USA
House Party – Celebrating 15 Years of Breast Cancer Action, ArtHaus, San Francisco, CA, USA
1212 Gallery, Burlingame, CA, USA
Permanent Collection Loan, Main Library, Santa Fe Community College, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2004 What an Art Gallery Should Actually Look Like (Large Glass), Exit Art (curated by Michele Thursz and Anne Ellegood), New York, NY, USA
Night of a Thousand Drawings, Artists Space, New York, NY, USA
Play Things, Kirkland Art Center (curated by John Rossis), Clinton, NY, USA
The Drawing Show, Old Church Cultural Center School of Art (curated by Mary Murray, gallery director),Demarest, NJ, USA
National Drawing 2004, The College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ, USA
Art of Survival, Herspace (curated by Nanci Hersh, artist), West Long Branch, NJ, USA
Looking In/Looking Out, Paul Mellon Arts Center at Choate Rosemary Hall(curated by Ellen Pliskin, artist), Wallingford, CT, USA
Embodiment: Myths in Animal Form, PostPicasso.com (curated by Ursula), Richmond, VA, USA
Ilse-Neuman, curator, Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY, USA
Critical Mass, 1708 Gallery (curated by Peter Schjeldahl), Richmond, VA, USA
critic, The New Yorker Artway Gallery, Brampton, Ontario
Masters’ Mystery Art Show, Ritz Carlton, Art Basel Miami Beach, FL, USA, USA
Padulo Longstreth and Goldberg, Naples, FL, USA
Hudson Gallery, Sylvania, OH, USA
Margeaux Kurtie Modern Art, Madrid, NM, USA
Integrate/Disintegrate, Visual Arts Gallery, Santa Fe Community College, Santa Fe, NM, USA
Permanent Collection Loan, Main Library, Santa Fe Community College, Santa Fe, NM, USA
1212 Gallery, Burlingame, CA, USA
2003 Fighting Back: An Exhibition in Support of the Campaign to Stop Violence Against Women, Kyoritsu Women’s College, Tokyo, Japan
Phyllis Weil & Company, New York, NY, USA
Monique Goldstrom, New York, NY, USA
Suspended Narratives, Fine Arts Center Galleries (curated by Judith Tolnick, gallery director), University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, USA
Boston Corporate Art, Boston, MA, USA
Fetish and Ritual, Bruce Gallery of Art (curated by William Mathie, gallery director), Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Edinboro, PA, USA
Hudson Gallery, Sylvania, OH, USA
Little Gems, Padulo Longstreth and Goldberg, Naples, FL, USA
International Works on Paper, William Whipple Art Gallery, Southwest State U., Marshall, MN, USA
Margeaux Kurtie Modern Art, Madrid, NM, USA
Permanent Collection Loan, Main Library, Santa Fe Community College, Santa Fe, NM, USA
Gallery Bergelli, Larkspur, CA, USA
1212 Gallery, Burlingame, CA, USA
2002 Art Alliance, New York, NY, USA
Continuity, La Mama La Galleria, New York, NY, USA
Chromatic Intrigues, Seton Hall University (curated by Stephen Sennott, director, City With-out Walls), Newark, NJ, USA
The Insomnia Show, City With-out Walls (curated by Lori Field and Elizabeth Seaton, artists Boston Corporate Art, Boston, MA, USA), Newark, NJ, USA
All Dolled Up, Suffolk Museum (curated by Trudi Van Dyke, director, Ellipse Art Center and Nancy), Suffolk, Arlington, VA, USA
Kinzinger, director, Suffolk Museum,Suffolk, VA, USA
Extraordinary Things: A Study of Contemporary Art Through Material Culture, University Art Gallery (curated
by Kaz McCue, gallery director), Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN, USA
Padulo Longstreth and Goldberg, Naples, FL, USA
Margeaux Kurtie Modern Art, Madrid, NM, USA
Gallery Bergelli, Larkspur, CA, USA
2001 Art Alliance, New York, NY, USA
Boston Corporate Art, Boston, MA, USA
KLFine Arts, Highland Park, IL, USA
Doll-Anstadt Gallery, Burlington, VT, USA
Go Figure, Gallery Bergelli, Larkspur, CA, USA
Steve Stein Gallery, Sherman Oaks, CA, USA
2000 Brewster Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Art Alliance, New York, NY, USA
Emerge2000, Aljira, Newark, NJ, USA
Extraordinary Things: A Study of Contemporary Art through Material Culture, University Gallery,University of
Bridgeport, Bridgeport, CT, USA
Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum, Oradell, NJ, USA
Doll-Anstadt Gallery, Burlington, VT, USA
James Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
KL Fine Arts, Highland Park, IL, USA
Latin Influences, Gallery Bergelli, Larkspur, CA, USA
Steve Stein Gallery, Sherman Oaks, CA, USA
1999 Brewster Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Art Alliance, New York, NY, USA
KL Fine Arts, Highland Park, IL, USA
1998 Brewster Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Art Alliance, New York, NY, USA
Lines of Direction, The Biennial at Ben Shahn Galleries, William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ, USA
Summit, New Jersey Center for Visual Arts, NJ, USA
1997 Brewster Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Realities III, Realities IV, Art Alliance(traveled to Fenton Moore Gallery, Buffalo, NY, USA), NYC; New Jersey
Center for Visual Arts, Summit NJ, USA
1996 Brewster Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Realities: International Contemporary Realism, and Realities II, Art Alliance, New York, NY, USA
New Jersey Center for Visual Arts, Summit, NJ, USA
1995 National Midyear Exhibition, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH, USA
New Jersey Center for Visual Arts, Summit, NJ, USA
1994 Gallery Juno, New York, NY, USA
Irene Leach Memorial Exhibition, Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA, USA
American Drawing Biennial, Muscarelle Museum of Art, Williamsburg, VA, USA
1993 Andre Zarre Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts, New Castle, PA, USA
1992 American Drawing Biennial, Muscarelle Museum of Art, Williamsburg, VA, USA
Harmon-Meek Gallery, Naples, FL, USA
1991 Sumner Museum, Washington, DC, USA
Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts, New Castle, PA, USA
Selected Collections
Collected by various national and international private collections.
Awards
2023 Barbara Rachko: True Grit (14 min short documentary), Audience Award, Newport Beach Film Festival, California, USA
Barbara Rachko: True Grit (14 min short documentary), Best in Category for Art, Architecture, and Design Award, Newport Beach Film Festival, California, USA
Barbara Rachko: True Grit (14 min short documentary), Honorable Mention, Fine Arts Film Festival, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Barbara Rachko: True Grit (14 min short documentary), Award Nominee, Montreal Women Film Festival, Montreal, Canada
2020 1stDibs (Listed), Emillions, Naples, FL, USA
2018 Artsy (Listed), Fusion Art, Palm Springs, CA, USA
2017 Artsy (Listed) Emillions Art, Naples, FL, USA
2015 Artsy (Listed), Space 776, Brooklyn, NY, USA
AIR Gallery Studio Visit Lottery(Winner), Brooklyn, NY, USA
2014 Artsy (Listed), Tabla Rasa, Brooklyn, NY, USA
2011 Freedom to Create Prize (Nominated), Singapore
2009 Lenore Sagan Visual Arts Awards (Award Winner), Joyce Dutka Arts Foundation, New York, NY, USA
2007 CAN Fellowship Recipient (selected by Barbara MacAdam, deputy editor, ARTnews), Contemporary Art Network, New York, NY, USA
2000 Chosen for the inaugural class,Emerge2000 (selected by Richard Klein, assistant director,Aldrich Museum of
Contemporary Art), Aljira, Newark, NJ, USA
Grants
2012 The Templar Trust, Liechtenstein for a monograph (published by MUSECPMI), New York, NY, USA
2010 The Templar Trust, Liechtenstein, and the Midtown West Arts Association (for a solo exhibition at H P Garcia Gallery), New York, NY, USA
Selected Press
2024 Tom May, "Making sense of loss" in creativeboom.com
John Wisniewski, "Barbara Rachko: A Contemporary Visual Artist" in Cultured Focus Magazine
2023 The Apricus Podcast, "A Conversation with Barbara Rachko" in spotify.com
Renee Phillips, "Amazing Artists" in renee-phillips.com
2021 bold journey, "Meet Barbara Rachko" in boldjourney.com
CanvasRebel Magazine "Meet Barbara Rachko" in canvasrebel.com
artamour, "Barbara Rachko: Flying Colours" in artamour.in
2020 peterdekuster, "The Heroine’s Journey of Barbara Rachko" in theheroinejourney2016.com
NYAC Studio View, "Barbara Rachko" in nyartistscircle.com
2019 Paula Soito, “Interview with Barbara Rachko” (Exclusive), 18 pages, July 2019 # 44 Art Market
2018 Elisa Pritzker, “From Pentagon to Painter” in ABC latino Magazine
2017 Interview, Tiempos, Cochabamba, Bolivia
VoyageMIA, “Meet Trailblazer Barbara Rachko”, Miami, FL, USA
2014 Brainard Carey, Interviewed for Yale Radio WYBC
Professional Contribution
2023 Became the subject of Barbara Rachko: True Grit, an award-winning 14-min short documentary that had its world
premiere at the Newport Beach Film Festival, USA
2023 Member, International Association of Visual Artists
2017 From Pilot to Painter (eBook), iTunes
2014 From Pilot to Painter (eBook), Amazon
Inventor of a science for mixing pastels together to create new colors
Promotes pastel as an important fine art medium