The Ohio Artist Registry (OAR) is an exciting opportunity for artists to share their work, connect with the creative community, and establish an online presence—all on a free, virtual platform! The OAR encourages artists working in all art forms, throughout Ohio and beyond, to create a profile, which allows them to better promote themselves and their work. Being listed in the OAR provides artists with new opportunities to share their work with clients, galleries, patrons, and audiences. A listing in the OAR does not confer an endorsement, approval, or verification by the Ohio Arts Council.
For more information, contact Kathy Signorino, artist programs director, at kathy.signorino@oac.ohio.gov or 614-728-6140.
2024 Ohio Artist Registry Juried Exhibition
Bio
Rebecca Gonzalez-Bartoli
I am an intuitive and expressive artist in recovery. I tell stories with my art using eclectic, whimsical colors, and thought provoking themes. My art expresses joy and grief through the lenses of animals, people, and words. Art has been a healing tool for me, and my goal is to spread that healing message to the public. I’ve been able to share my artwork by participating in multiple shows and exhibits since moving to Columbus in 2016 and have found that community is an important part of art storytelling. I started my small business RGONZOARTS in 2022 by becoming a vendor at art markets and festivals, which has been challenging creatively. As a self-taught artist, I create my work by using acrylic paint, gel printing, and different mixed-media techniques and mediums.
Artist Statement
These works are part of a series about my childhood, nostalgia, and recovery. If you look closely at each piece, you will see representations of innocence, trauma, and evolution. These pieces begin technically as collages where I adhere hospital records, old photos, and old documents, that I then build upon with paint, ink, spray paint, modeling paste, and wax crayon. Creating superimposed and contrasting compositions allows the work to be texturally interesting and multi-layered. The paintings are of icons from the early 2000s, my memories of girlhood, but underneath these painted joys are photos I took and essays I wrote during the darkest times of my childhood. This work reflects becoming nostalgic about certain aspects of my upbringing while acknowledging the ache of trauma that still lingers. The quote by “june” written in my piece “Cyber03” that states, “I don’t know how to get over things and nostalgia is the everlasting wound that love leaves”, sums up the conflicting feelings I have about my still healing being.