Rachel Lebo: Red Herring

March 13 - June 12, 2020

St. Louis, MO — Monaco is pleased to present Red Herring featuring St. Louis artist Rachel Lebo.

Short story fiction has played a large role in Rachel Lebo’s work since reading A.M. Homes’, Chunky in Heat, and meeting Cheryl for the first time. Since then she has looked at her works as operating similarly to short stories, using color, emphasis on certain details, and characters in order to float as close as she can to the point without ever introducing a plot.The final paintings reflect a multi-faceted collaboration between Rachel, the subjects of the works, characters from short story fiction, and their authors.

 In this particular body of work, Red Herring, Rachel explores the relationship between persona and reality, assurance and vulnerability through this series of six paintings. Some paintings are tucked into corners minding their own intimate moments, unwatched, while others are presenting themselves to be seen.

Rachel Lebo grew up on the east coast in Baltimore County Maryland. She currently resides in St. Louis, Missouri working across media in painting, sculpture, and story-telling. She likes to step into other characters in order to explore ideas and herself.

In 2019 Rachel received her MFA in visual arts from Washington University in St. Louis. She is the recipient of The Ernestine Betsberg and Arthur Osver Scholarship, a Dubinsky Scholarship to study at the Fine Arts Work Center, The Graduate School Production Grant, and The Graduate Student Travel Grant. She has been featured in All the Art magazine, and has shown in Richmond, Baltimore, and around the St. Louis area.

Rachel currently enjoys teaching at Maryville University and works as a wedding DJ on the weekends.